The Voting News Weekly: The Voting News Weekly March 26 – April 1 2012

Internet Voting Would Put Soldier's Votes at Risk

DHS cybersecurity official Bruce McConnell told a gathering of election officials, researchers and advocates that “it’s premature to deploy Internet voting in real elections at this time.” McConnell said voting systems are vulnerable and, “when you connect them to the Internet that vulnerability increases.” A Federal judge ruled that the FEC overstepped its bounds in allowing corporations and nonprofits to shield the identities of their financiers. In Palm Beach County ballots with be hand counted to determine the results of an local election marred by software counting errors. Confusion over the legal status voter ID requirements cloud next week’s Wisconsin primary. Voter ID requirements in Missouri were struck down in court and a voter ID bill in Nebraska was stopped by a filibuster. The denial of service attack on last week’s NDP leadership contest has left many in Canada questioning the wisdom of internet voting and a peaceful transition of power took place in Senegal after Macky Sall’s resounding run-off election victory.

National: Online Voting ‘Premature’ Warns Government Cybersecurity Expert | WBUR
National: Federal judge rules Federal Election Commission overstepped authority in shielding ad donors | The Washington Post
Florida: Wellington election: Judge approves request for hand recount for disputed election | OrlandoSentinel.com
Blogs: Stuck in the Middle: Wisconsin ID Fight Making Life Difficult for Election Officials, Voters | Election Academy
Missouri: Court strikes down proposed voter ID amendment | KansasCity.com
Nebraska: Voter ID bill filibustered to death | McCook Daily Gazette
Canada: NDP internet vote disruption worries experts | The Chronicle Herald
Senegal: Macky Sall wins Senegal run-off election in landslide | Deseret News

Mar 31, 2012
National: Online Voting ‘Premature’ Warns Government Cybersecurity Expert | WBUR

Warnings about the dangers of Internet voting have been growing as the 2012 election nears, and an especially noteworthy one came Thursday from a top cybersecurity official at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Bruce McConnell told a group of election officials, academics and advocacy groups meeting in Santa Fe, N.M., that he believes, “it’s premature to deploy Internet voting in real elections at this time.” McConnell said voting systems are vulnerable and, “when you connect them to the Internet that vulnerability increases.” He called security around Internet voting “immature and under-resourced.” McConnell’s comments echo those of a number of computer scientists who say there’s no way to protect votes cast over the Internet from outside manipulation. But right now a growing number of states are allowing overseas and military voters to return their marked ballots by digital fax or email, which experts say raises the same threat. It’s part of a recent push to make voting easier for millions of Americans overseas, who often are prevented from voting because of slow ballot delivery and missed deadlines.

The Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP) at the Pentagon and other groups have been working recently to make it easier for overseas Americans and those in the military to register to vote online and to download their ballots. The question is whether it’s safe to return the voted ballot online.

Some election officials say it’s a trade-off between security and convenience. Bob Carey, director of FVAP, told a group of bloggers in October that there are risks to online voting, but also “inherent security risks with the current system,” such as people not getting their ballots on time and losing the opportunity to vote. Carey added that “there’s not going to be any electronic voting system that’s ever going to be 100 percent secure, but also the current paper-based system is not 100 percent reliable either.” … Some people think online voting is bound to happen, though, once the kinks are worked out. But as McConnell’s comments show, those who worry a lot about cybersecurity believe that time is a long way away.

Full Article: Online Voting ‘Premature’ Warns Government Cybersecurity Expert | WBUR & NPR.

The Federal Election Commission overstepped its bounds in allowing groups that fund certain election ads to keep their financiers anonymous, a federal judge ruled Friday. U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson’s ruling could pave the way to requiring groups that spend money on electioneering communications — ads that don’t expressly advocate for or against a candidate running for federal office — to disclose their donors. The FEC ruled in 2007 that corporations and nonprofits did not have to reveal the identities of those who financed such ads. That regulation came in response to a Supreme Court ruling that gave more latitude to nonprofit groups — like the Karl Rove-backed Crossroads GPS and the President Barack Obama-leaning Priorities USA — on pre-election ads. Campaign-finance regulations have received new scrutiny this election cycle, following a handful of federal court rulings that stripped away long-established limits on how much individuals and organizations may contribute to groups favoring certain candidates.

One such high-profile case, known as Citizens United, gave a green light for corporations and labor unions to spend unlimited sums of their cash on campaign ads. That effectively led to the expansion of “super” political action committees, which have expended more than $50 million on the Republican primary elections and are largely funded by wealthy donors.

Democratic Rep. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, who brought the suit against the FEC last year, has also proposed a bill that would require more detailed disclosure requirements for campaign finance, known as the Disclose Act. That bill has garnered support in light of nonprofits funneling anonymous money to their affiliated super PACs, effectively shielding the names of some donors. In her 31-page ruling, Jackson said the FEC did not have legislative authority to substantially change McCain-Feingold, officially known as the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002. She said it is up to Congress, not the FEC, to make such changes.

Full Article: Federal judge rules Federal Election Commission overstepped authority in shielding ad donors – The Washington Post.

Several dozen pairs of eyeballs will examine ballots from Wellington’s disputed election when a hand count begins at 8 a.m. Saturday in the county elections office, the finale — or so many hope — to a string of lawsuits and weeks of confusion over the voters’ choices for three village council seats. ”Just get it done,” candidate Al Paglia said. “The sooner, the better.” On Wednesday, within a half-day of the village’s canvassing board deciding that a manual recount was the only way to swear in winners indisputably, seven Wellington residents filed a complaint in Palm Beach County Circuit Court asking for just that. Judge Robin Rosenberg on Thursday ordered a manual recount of the March 13 races, which yielded incorrect winners because of an apparent software error.

Election night results placed Paglia and Shauna Hostetler as victors in seats 4 and 1, respectively. But a routine audit showed the original vote total had been matched to the wrong candidates and that Matt Willhite had won Seat 4 and John Greene had won Seat 1. In both cases, Bob Margolis prevailed over Darell Bowen for mayor.

Many had expected Rosenberg’s hearing to be preliminary, but her decision was swift. A phalanx of lawyers representing residents and candidates in a bevy of lawsuits filed last week and this week assured the judge that they weren’t opposed to the hand count, although some disagreement lingered over how the election audit and certification of results had unfolded. By Thursday afternoon, Saturday’s hand count — expected to take about six hours — was set. ”It was wise to do it sooner than later,” Hostetler said. “I will be very supportive of what those numbers are.”

Full Article: Wellington election: Judge approves request for hand recount for disputed election. – OrlandoSentinel.com….

This week’s issue of electionlineWeekly features another terrific story by my colleague Mindy Moretti, who writes about the impact of Wisconsin’s ongoing voter ID fight on next Tuesday’s April 3 primary. The new law has currently been halted by two separate trial courts, and the appeals courts have certified both cases to the state Supreme Court who could, in theory, rule on the challenge before polls open on Tuesday. I’ve already written before (“Deltaphobia“) about the effect of change on election administration, and this current situation puts those concerns front and center. Specifically, notwithstanding the efforts of the state Government Accountability Board to keep clerks apprised of the latest developments in the ID fight, the uncertainty (which Moretti calls the “on-again, off again voter ID law”) is creating problems for election officials and voters:

“We had several elections last year when our poll workers asked for the ID during the soft implmentation. So to go back to not having to ask is minor. Not knowing if the injunction will be overturned before the April election is probably more of a concern.” Dankmeyer, La Crosse County clerk said. “The biggest issue is the confusion it is causing with the public. We worked hard to make sure they were educated and informed on this new law only to have it reversed. We are getting calls asking for clarification on the injunction and what parts the injunction affects.”… ”I believe voters which had an election in February — when voter photo ID was required — may become frustrated with the on-again/off-again requirements,” [Waukesha County Clerk Kathy] Nickolaus said. “In the portion of [the] County that had an election in February only one person forgot their photo ID and voted provisionally.”

Moreover, the uncertainty is forcing election officials to double up on training and instructions – which in turn increase costs for taxpayers:

Full Article: Stuck in the Middle: Wisconsin ID Fight Making Life Difficult for Election Officials, Voters – Election Academy.

A Cole County judge on Thursday struck down a proposed amendment to the Missouri Constitution that would have required voters to show photo identification at the polls. Cole County Circuit Judge Pat Joyce ruled that the summary that would have appeared on the ballot was “insufficient and unfair” and pointed to two reasons for her ruling. First, the ballot summary includes the phrase “Voter Protection Act,” even though the phrase never actually appears in the constitutional amendment. Second, the summary stated that the amendment would allow the General Assembly to establish an early voting period, when in fact the amendment would “restrict the time period during which advance voting may occur,” Joyce said. “Because significant changes are required here and policy choices need to be made as to how to reallocate the words in a revised summary statement, the court chooses to vacate the summary statement and to provide the General Assembly an opportunity to revise it,” Joyce’s ruling said.

The ballot title approved by the legislature asks voters, “Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended to adopt the Voter Protection Act and allow the General Assembly to provide by general law for advance voting prior to election day, voter photo identification requirements, and voter requirements based on whether one appears to vote in person or by absentee ballot?”

Tony Rothert, legal director of ACLU of Eastern Missouri, praised the ruling. “We did believe the summary statement as written was misleading to voters and are pleased the judge agreed,” said Rothert, whose organization was among those who filed the lawsuit challenging the ballot summary.

Full Article: Court strikes down proposed Missouri voter ID amendment – KansasCity.com….

State senators have filibustered to death a bill that would have required voters to show government-issued photographic ID at their polling places. State senators debated the bill, LB239, on March 27 and March 28. A motion for cloture, or ending debate, Wednesday failed by three votes on a vote of 30-16. LB239 was introduced by Sen. Charlie Janssen of Fremont and prioritized by Sen. Ken Schilz of Ogallala. The bill, which was first debated Feb. 27, would require voters to present a driver’s license or state-issued identification card. With an amendment introduced by the Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee, voters who lacked the needed ID would be mailed an acknowledgement of registration card to use as identification when voting.

Janssen said he introduced the bill to “further protect the integrity and reliability of elections. Nebraskans are honest and forthcoming people,” he said. But Nebraskans are also not naïve in thinking that voter fraud doesn’t exist, he said. Some opponents of the voter ID bill said it would create an impediment to voting. Sen. Bill Avery of Lincoln, who voted against cutting off debate, said the bill would disproportionately burden certain groups of voters, such as the elderly, students and poor people.

Full Article: McCook Daily Gazette: State News: Voter ID bill filibustered to death (03/29/12).

Although many people are attached at the hip to their laptops, few are conversant in software coding and even fewer are familiar with heavy encryption. Combine computers with the intricacies of elections, and that leaves only a handful of specialists worldwide who can claim to understand online voting. Questions about e-voting were raised after the NDP leadership convention was disrupted by a cyber attack. Not all of them have been answered satisfactorily, say software experts, despite reassurances from Scytl, the software company that handled the NDP election process, and from Halifax Regional Municipality, which has committed to use the company’s services in October’s municipal election. ”Multibillion-dollar (software developers) like Windows, you know, Microsoft . . . can’t have their software bug-free. So I don’t think Scytl is able to do that,” said Daniel Sokolov, a Halifax information technology expert. Sokolov has examined several European elections that used e-voting and found at least three with troubling results.

One problem with online voting software is its complexity, he said, explaining no municipality could hope to vet hundreds of thousands of lines of computer code. ”It’s a farce. It’s a joke,” said Sokolov. “You need a big team of people to do that, and it’ll take years.”

Other problems include the challenge of auditing votes and vote tallies after the fact, the risk posed by cyber attacks and — perhaps the biggest issue — the difficulty of ensuring secret ballots, said Sokolov and other computer experts who spoke to The Chronicle Herald. Some of these concerns have been tackled by Halifax Regional Municipality more thoroughly than critics imagine, said municipal clerk Cathy Mellett, who noted that 25 per cent of voters chose to vote electronically in the 2008 municipal election. Mellett said the city will use a third-party auditor, most likely Ernst &Young, which will hire software experts to look over Scytl’s code.

Full Article: NDP vote disruption worries experts | The Chronicle Herald.

Senegal’s new president won the runoff election in a landslide, garnering nearly twice as many votes as the incumbent of 12 years, according to provisional results released Tuesday. Senegalese officials announced that Macky Sall had won 65.80 percent of ballots cast in Sunday’s runoff ballot, benefiting from a united opposition in the second round of voting. Incumbent President Abdoulaye Wade won 34.20 percent of the vote — slightly less than his percentage in the first round last month. It marked a sharp drop-off from the last presidential race in 2007, when he easily won the 50 percent needed to avoid a runoff. ”It’s a landslide victory for President Macky Sall,” said Mbaye Ndiaye, who represents the opposition coalition that supported Sall in the runoff.

Wade conceded defeat to his opponent within hours of polls closing, and world leaders and observers have applauded Senegal for holding a peaceful and transparent vote. Wade’s popularity has fallen amid rising costs of living and high unemployment in this country on Africa’s western coast. Many voters spoke simply of change Sunday, rather than of Sall’s specific credentials. State media announced that Wade planned to hand over to Sall next Monday, and said the 85-year-old incumbent was next headed to Saudi Arabia for a religious pilgrimage.

Full Article: Senegal election won in landslide | Deseret News.

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The Voting News Weekly: The Voting News Weekly March 26 – April 1 2012

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