SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Fourteen of the most competitive House races in November will be decided using electronic voting machines which will have no verifiable paper trail to consult in the case of a close election. (Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Aging Paperless Voting Machines in Hotly-Contested Districts Stoke Fears Ahead of Midterms
In addition to undermining voter confidence, warn officials, the lack of a paper trail could leave the machines vulnerable to election-meddling
May 31, 2018
More than 140 of November's congressional elections will be decided using electronic voting machines with no verifiable paper trail, leading to concerns among election officials that any hacking or tampering will be undetectable--and accurate recounts or audits in the event of extremely close races, difficult to verify.
Nationwide, Reuters reports, 14 of the 40 most competitive seats are in districts where voters will not have access to paper ballots. These races will take place in states that include Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Texas, Florida, Kansas, and Kentucky.
"Voter confidence is a really big thing, and it's the battle I worry about losing," Jonathan Marks, Pennsylvania's elections commissioner, told Reuters.
In addition to undermining voter confidence, the lack of a paper trail could leave the machines vulnerable to election-meddling, officials say. The concerns come as anxiety over the legitimacy of elections is growing, with nearly three-quarters of voters telling CNN earlier this year that they are concerned about foreign interference in the American voting process.
"There's an urgent need to move away from paperless electronic voting machines, ideally before the fall general election." --Aquene Freechild, Public Citizen
Last year, hackers at Def Con demonstrated the ease with which they could break into electronic voting machines, prompting Virginia to replace its paperless system.
Congress appropriated $380 billion to states this year to upgrade their voting systems, but many states say that even with the new funds, they will not be able to improve their machines before the 2018 election.
In a new report released Thursday, Public Citizen advised local officials to negotiate affordable prices for secure paper ballot and electronic scanner voting systems in order to replace paperless machines in time for November.
"There's an urgent need to move away from paperless electronic voting machines, ideally before the fall general election," said Aquene Freechild, co-director of Public Citizen's Democracy Is For People campaign, in a statement. "We want to make sure that election officials can make the most of their limited election security funding to get more secure paper ballot and scanner-based voting systems."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
More than 140 of November's congressional elections will be decided using electronic voting machines with no verifiable paper trail, leading to concerns among election officials that any hacking or tampering will be undetectable--and accurate recounts or audits in the event of extremely close races, difficult to verify.
Nationwide, Reuters reports, 14 of the 40 most competitive seats are in districts where voters will not have access to paper ballots. These races will take place in states that include Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Texas, Florida, Kansas, and Kentucky.
"Voter confidence is a really big thing, and it's the battle I worry about losing," Jonathan Marks, Pennsylvania's elections commissioner, told Reuters.
In addition to undermining voter confidence, the lack of a paper trail could leave the machines vulnerable to election-meddling, officials say. The concerns come as anxiety over the legitimacy of elections is growing, with nearly three-quarters of voters telling CNN earlier this year that they are concerned about foreign interference in the American voting process.
"There's an urgent need to move away from paperless electronic voting machines, ideally before the fall general election." --Aquene Freechild, Public Citizen
Last year, hackers at Def Con demonstrated the ease with which they could break into electronic voting machines, prompting Virginia to replace its paperless system.
Congress appropriated $380 billion to states this year to upgrade their voting systems, but many states say that even with the new funds, they will not be able to improve their machines before the 2018 election.
In a new report released Thursday, Public Citizen advised local officials to negotiate affordable prices for secure paper ballot and electronic scanner voting systems in order to replace paperless machines in time for November.
"There's an urgent need to move away from paperless electronic voting machines, ideally before the fall general election," said Aquene Freechild, co-director of Public Citizen's Democracy Is For People campaign, in a statement. "We want to make sure that election officials can make the most of their limited election security funding to get more secure paper ballot and scanner-based voting systems."
More than 140 of November's congressional elections will be decided using electronic voting machines with no verifiable paper trail, leading to concerns among election officials that any hacking or tampering will be undetectable--and accurate recounts or audits in the event of extremely close races, difficult to verify.
Nationwide, Reuters reports, 14 of the 40 most competitive seats are in districts where voters will not have access to paper ballots. These races will take place in states that include Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Texas, Florida, Kansas, and Kentucky.
"Voter confidence is a really big thing, and it's the battle I worry about losing," Jonathan Marks, Pennsylvania's elections commissioner, told Reuters.
In addition to undermining voter confidence, the lack of a paper trail could leave the machines vulnerable to election-meddling, officials say. The concerns come as anxiety over the legitimacy of elections is growing, with nearly three-quarters of voters telling CNN earlier this year that they are concerned about foreign interference in the American voting process.
"There's an urgent need to move away from paperless electronic voting machines, ideally before the fall general election." --Aquene Freechild, Public Citizen
Last year, hackers at Def Con demonstrated the ease with which they could break into electronic voting machines, prompting Virginia to replace its paperless system.
Congress appropriated $380 billion to states this year to upgrade their voting systems, but many states say that even with the new funds, they will not be able to improve their machines before the 2018 election.
In a new report released Thursday, Public Citizen advised local officials to negotiate affordable prices for secure paper ballot and electronic scanner voting systems in order to replace paperless machines in time for November.
"There's an urgent need to move away from paperless electronic voting machines, ideally before the fall general election," said Aquene Freechild, co-director of Public Citizen's Democracy Is For People campaign, in a statement. "We want to make sure that election officials can make the most of their limited election security funding to get more secure paper ballot and scanner-based voting systems."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.