A special cybersecurity panel of the Joint Commission on Technology and Science has voted to move forward with crafting state legislation to enable many deployed military voters to cast their absentee ballots on-line. The panel decided that the pilot program should focus on active-duty military personnel based outside of the continental U.S.–instead of also including spouses and other employees. As proposed, the bill would require signing and scanning of each ballot, a witness, and use of a military smart-ID card that’s encrypted. Local officials would compare the ballots received with matching absentee voting applications and investigate any irregularities. But SRI International’s Jeremy Epstein warned of potential problems, including viruses.
“And then when the local board of elections opens that—what they think is an e-mail attachment that is a ballot—in fact, they’re opening a virus and they’re getting their system infected.”
… The League of Women Voters of Virginia urged caution until security concerns can be cleared up.
Full Article: Military Voters | WVTF.