A federal lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union questions the security of a multistate voter registration database championed by Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach. The ACLU this week added concerns about personal privacy and data security to its list of complaints against President Donald Trump’s voter fraud commission. The national organization also claims that the commission violated sunshine laws on public meetings and public documents. Kobach is vice chairman of the commission, which has sought individual-level voter registration records from all 50 states, though some states refused to hand them over. The ACLU lawsuit cites concerns that the data-gathering effort would become a target for hackers, and by way of example points to indications that Kansas’ multistate Crosscheck voter registration system may not be secure.
This fall at least two media outlets — the investigative nonprofit ProPublica and the tech site Gizmodo — uncovered security problems with Crosscheck, ranging from relying on an insecure server to sharing passwords via email. Sensitive information also was exposed through open records requests.
The defendants in the lawsuit have yet to file an answer to the ACLU’s complaints. Kobach’s office didn’t respond to a request Thursday for comment on the lawsuit’s references to Crosscheck.
The ACLU lawsuit, originally filed in July, is similar to a lawsuit filed the same day by the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, among other legal complaints.
Full Article: ACLU Adds Data Security Concerns To Lawsuit Challenging Kobach Voter Fraud Commission | KMUW.