Verified Voting Blog: The 2010 Primaries: More Recounts than Recountable Elections

The 2010 primary election season is in full swing.  As in every election cycle, there are a number of extremely close races, with recounts looming for some.  So far this year, state-mandated automatic recounts are likely for the Democratic primary for Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania, and for the Republican primary for Ohio’s 18th U.S. Congressional District.  In Oregon, a recount is possible in the statewide race for superintendent of schools. Some of 2010’s recounts will include the hand-to-eye examination of actual ballots; for example, Oregon mandates that recounts be 100% hand-counted.  But too many “recounts” this year will depend upon the correct functioning of computer software or firmware.  We believe that this state of affairs is not tenable.  When a state does not provide every voter with a reliable, physical ballot showing his or her intent, or does not conduct computer-independent recounts of those ballots, then an effective recount –  a process that should provide the strongest possible evidence of the intent of the electorate – is not possible.

The Voting News Daily: Email balloting risks midterm election to hacking. Hanging Chads – 10 years later

16 states will allow overseas voters to return ballots via email for the midterm elections. “But cybersecurity experts and voter advocates contend that these well-intentioned efforts ignore the technical vulnerabilities of sending a voted ballot as an e-mail attachment, potentially subjecting this midterm contest to electronic vote rigging and hacking”…Meanwhile, the US Air force assigns…

The Voting News Daily: 1 in 10 AZ voters get wrong info. The Kansas Report and voter purges. Nassau ordered to ditch levers

While Michigan, Minnesota, California’s Humboldt County and even other cities ..reaffirm citizens’ rights to oversight, “Aspen taxpayers are funding an expensive battle to fight election transparency. Aspen, of all places.” writes Mike LaBonte in LTE…Mississippi has entered into an agreement with several states to pull together what’s been called “The Kansas Report.” to purge duplicate…

The Voting News Daily: Dominion buys Premier-Diebold. US experts hack India EVM. Smartmatic flaw stuns officials

WPBS radio interviews Kim Alexander of CalVoter…Michigan Atty Gen: “Voted ballots…are public records..”..Revolving door in PA swings toward Internet Voting..Anti-Trust: Dominion acquires Diebold assets from ES&S…San Francisco unsure how many wrong ballots issued…Delaware City ends “poll tax”…US experts ‘hack’ India e-voting machines…Philippines Rep. Locsin blows top over Smartmatic election return flaws… The Philippines is ordering…

The Voting News Daily: AR touchscreens flip votes. KY Election fraud claims. 1000s in PA could vote twice

BRAD BLOG’s Election Integrity Backgrounder for ‘Super-ish Tuesday’ 2010…Excuses don’t help: Votes flipped on Carroll Co Arkansas touchscreens…Sen Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) gets provisional ballot…Wrong ballot sent to thousands of Sonoma Co CA voters….Voter supression & fraud alleged in KY elections…1000s of Pennsylvania voters registered to vote in 2 counties…Philippines: Polls not fair, not honest, not…

The Voting News Daily: Voting machines burn in Rt 22,PA fire. KY debuts paper ballots.Philippines voting machine sleepover

Watch Yuma AZ vote count live via webcam…Use iPad to register to vote in Santa Clara Co CA…”Too much” voter assistance in Forsyth Co NC?..90 Kentucky counties debut paper ballot systems in Tues Primary..Absentee/Early Voting Method: Raise Questions and Risks…No Voting Rights in Indian Country USA…Smartmatic Technician Takes Home 65 PCOS Machines…Internet voting watch in…

Verified Voting Blog: Comments on EAC UOCAVA Pilot Program Testing Requirements

This week the Elections Assistance Commission (EAC) released public comments submitted on their draft UOCAVA Pilot Program Testing Requirements. The EAC document spell outs testing and certification requirements for Internet voting pilot programs for military and overseas voters, partly in response to the requirements of the Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment (MOVE) Act passed in 2009. The MOVE Act required many excellent improvements that increase opportunities for voters overseas to be able to cast their ballots in time to be counted. These changes include the electronic delivery of blank ballots and information, but not the electronic return of voted ballots. The Act also included a provision for experimental programs involving voting via the Internet. At least three states (AZ, CO, WV, and possibly GA and FL) are planning to carry out voluntary pilot programs this year. Despite the short time available for comment, many substantive comments were submitted, including from Verified Voting. While we do not mention them all here, there were many insightful comments and we urge you to read through them. Many of the comments expressed recurring themes:

Audits, Security Standards and Procedures: Verified Voting noted that an equipment manufacturing standard alone is insufficient to provide anything resembling “reasonable assurance that the pilot systems will operate correctly and securely”, as stated in Section 1.1.3 of the EAC Draft. We assert that a comprehensive security plan is required, not merely an equipment testing plan. Robust post-election audits are essential to demonstrating correct and secure operation of any voting system, be it remote or local.

The Voting News Daily: Detroit ballot boxing. Few use WV overseas internet voting. Sack the UK Election Chief?

“Sack the Chairwoman of the Electoral Commission.” Iain Dale writing about UK’s election fiasco…Online bank thefts more than doubled in 2009 but no one would try to steal an internet election right?…Ballot boxing-When it comes to the mayoral election dustup, Tom Barrow has a point…‘Hispanic’ TX District Won by an African-American…Damaged memory cards delayed tally…

The Voting News Daily: Damn the science view riles internet voting critic. EAC i-voting plan breaks law. UK election-No Diebold!

“Damn the science,Damn the integrity; If it feels good do it!” attitude riles CTvoterscount.org – response to comments in NYT article on Internet voting…The EAC violated law in proceeding with Internet voting system guidelines says Voter Action. “If allowed to proceed, the US Election Assistance Commission will place at risk the votes of hundreds of…

The Voting News Daily: Experts decry US overseas Internet vote plan. PA, KY unverifiable elections. UK student voters 2nd class citizens

Concerns about EAC’s Overseas/Military Internet vote plan: Experts warn that e-mail messages can be intercepted, voting Web sites can be hacked or taken down by malicious attacks, and the secrecy of ballots is hard to ensure…DOJ asks court to compel Nassau compliance…”Here We Go Again (Again): 100% Unverifiable E-Voting Systems Set for Use in PA,…

Verified Voting Blog: Military and Overseas Voting Update

For members of the military, their families, and other United States citizens living overseas, voting has always presented unique challenges. Some of these problems include reliable delivery of blank ballots to the voters, secure and timely return of voted ballots, and authenticating that ballots were completed and returned by the same person they were sent to. According to an EAC study, Voting from Abroad: A Survey Of UOCAVA Voters:

There are no reliable data available on the number of [military and overseas] voters dispersed around the globe; some estimates hover around 4 million. Active-duty military are estimated at 1.5 million and family of military another 1.5 million.

In 1986 and again in 2009, Congress passed laws looking to improve access to voting for military and overseas voters. And today, as communication technologies like fax and email have become available, states are moving forward with plans for electronic transmission and receipt of ballots, all too often without sufficient regard for the privacy and security issues involved.

Verified Voting Blog: Verified Voting Comments to EAC on Internet Voting Pilots

With many states already deploying a form of Internet voting, email return of voted ballots (see map), it is important that requirements for remote voting systems and the pilot programs that test them reflect the highest standards for security. On April 30, 2010, Verified Voting submitted comments to the EAC on proposed testing requirements for military and overseas voting pilot programs that use remote technologies such as Internet Voting. In a letter to the EAC, president Pam Smith said that the comments focused on “the broad outlines of the pilot program and core precepts to which we believe any pilots should adhere.” Sending voted ballots over the public Internet “is in a security class by itself,” the letter noted, and these ballots are vulnerable to attacks from a wide range of individuals, organizations, and even governments. “Voting systems for UOCAVA voters should not be held to a higher security standard than domestic absentee voting,” the letter said, “nor should UOCAVA voters be required to use a system that is less secure than those used by voters back home.”

Verified Voting Blog: Efficient Auditing of Election Results

On March 27 and 28, 2010, Verified Voting and Common Cause sponsored a meeting of in Washington, D.C. to share experiences and ideas for improving post-election audits. The participants included election officials, statisticians, computer and political scientists, election integrity advocates, and voting system vendor technical staff. This meeting marked the first time that diverse stakeholders, including voting systems vendors, met together for the explicit purpose of identifying the potential benefits and challenges of using small batches of ballots (i.e., smaller than precincts — down to and including individual ballot records) to make audits more effective and efficient.

Verified Voting Blog: Verified Voting Comments on EAC Internet Pilot Requirements

Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the proposed UOCAVA Pilot Program Testing Requirements.  We appreciate the invitation for public input to such an important initiative.  In this letter we confine our comments to the broad outlines of the pilot program and core precepts to which we believe any pilots should adhere. The Verified Voting Foundation has benefited greatly from prominent experts whose professional work duties include achieving U.S. national security objectives within digital networks and computer communications.  This expertise leads us to set forth this core understanding:  Federal election security is a fundamental component of U.S. national security.  Applying this principle, we submit that election security should not be compromised for convenience or transmission speed. Internet voting (which for purposes of these comments we define as transmission of voted ballots over the public Internet) is in a security class by itself.  In comparing Internet transmission of voted ballots to paper absentee ballot voting, we agree with the oft-made point that voting systems for UOCAVA voters should not be held to a higher security standard than domestic absentee voting. Nor should UOCAVA voters be required to use a system that is less secure than those used by voters back home.

The Voting News Daily: Hacking India’s Voting Machines, A voting rights case to watch, Internet voting spreads

“Our research proved something which we really never doubted: with some preparation anyone with even momentary access to paperless voting machines can own the country.” ~ Rop Gonggrijp after examining e-voting machines used in India…Investigators to monitor KY polls…TN House Leader Odom solicits probe of Benton voter purge …Supreme Court Weighs Petition-Signers’ Anonymity…Is section 5…