Georgia’s voting machines recorded votes properly – but they have hacking vulnerabilities that went undiscovered for years. The findings are from a recent review of the voting machines and represent a mixed bag for people concerned about foreign and domestic interference in U.S. elections. First, the good news: There’s no evidence any of the vulnerabilities have been used to alter votes in any elections, as my colleagues Ellen Nakashima and Amy Gardner report. Most of the vulnerabilities are also quite difficult to exploit, requiring hands-on access to the voting machines. And they’re likely to be caught by standard security protocols in election offices. But: The vulnerabilities in the Dominion Voting Systems-brand machines remained undetected for years. They might not have been discovered now if not for a long-running lawsuit over the security of Georgia’s machines during which University of Michigan computer scientist J. Alex Halderman was given a chance to examine the machines on behalf of the plaintiffs in the case. Such independent reviews are still relatively rare — and election security advocates warn vulnerabilities in other voting systems could still be waiting out there undiscovered. Halderman’s findings were verified by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), which is in the process of notifying more than a dozen states that use the machines about the vulnerabilities and mitigation measures they should take, according to Ellen and Amy who got an advance look at the CISA advisory.
District of Columbia: Wealthy Mobile Voting Advocate Targets Charles Allen with Negative Ads Over Legislative Dispute | Alex Koma/Washington City Paper
A venture capitalist and former Mike Bloomberg adviser is gearing up to launch an ad blitz against Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen, aiming to pressure him into advancing mobile voting legislation that he’s sought to bottle up in his committee. Bradley Tusk’s nonprofit Tusk Philanthropies is planning a “significant, five-figure ad campaign to launch next week” pressuring Allen to at least hold a hearing on legislation aiming to let D.C. voters cast their ballots from their phones by 2024, a spokesperson for the group tells Loose Lips. The bill is spearheaded by Ward 2 Councilmember Brooke Pinto and co-introduced by seven other councilmembers. That’s generally a good indication of legislation’s success, but Allen has no interest in moving it out of his judiciary and public safety committee for a full Council vote. “The radio, TV, digital, and print campaign will strongly urge [Allen] to immediately hold a hearing on the bill, which would expand access to voting across the District,” the Tusk spokesperson wrote in a statement. The problem for Tusk (who has also worked as a political adviser to Uber and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer) is that Allen seems unlikely to budge. It’d be one thing if he was facing a competitive re-election (he’s currently running unopposed in the Democratic primary) but as it stands now, he doesn’t have much incentive to bend to the whims of a rich out-of-towner.
Full Article: Wealthy Mobile Voting Advocate Targets Charles Allen with Negative Ads Over Legislative Dispute – Washington City Paper