December 5, 2024

CAC-Vote: Another Insecure Internet Voting System

Philip Stark and I have released this paper with an analysis of a DARPA-sponsored research project to develop an internet voting system. An Internet Voting System Fatally Flawed in Creative New Ways Abstract: The recently published “MERGE” protocol is designed to be used in the prototype CAC-vote system. The voting kiosk and protocol transmit votes […]

Rows and Columns, the County Line, and the ExpressVote XL

Why did New Jersey counties keep choosing one insecure voting machine after another, for decades?  Only this year did I realize what the reason might be. A century ago, New Jersey (like many other states) adopted lever voting machines that listed the offices by row, with the parties (and their candidates) across the columns: The […]

Barcodes on paper ballots: the good, the bad, and the stealth

Paper ballots should not have barcodes to mark votes; paper ballots should have barcodes to mark ballot styles.  Why is that?  What’s the difference?  And at the end, I describe a useful innovation from a company called Voting.works.   One of the most important reasons we use paper ballots in elections is to protect our elections […]

Suggested Principles for State Statutes Regarding Ballot Marking and Vote Tabulation

This letter, signed by more than 20 election cybersecurity experts, was addressed to the Pennsylvania State Senate Committee on Government in response to a request for policy advice, but it applies in any state — especially those that use Ballot Marking Devices for all in-person voters: Georgia and South Carolina; most counties in Arkansas, New […]

Switzerland’s e-voting system has predictable implementation blunder

Last year, I published a 5-part series about Switzerland’s e-voting system.  Like any internet voting system, it has inherent security vulnerabilities: if there are malicious insiders, they can corrupt the vote count; and if thousands of voters’ computers are hacked by malware, the malware can change votes as they are transmitted.   Switzerland “solves” the […]