How Democracy Lost In NYC

After a very close race in NYC there was a recount.  As this NYTimes editorial points out most people would think the people’s choice lost because of overly strict laws and incompetent poll workers: One Lesson From the Katz-Cabán Recount

[read post] | By on July 9, 2019 - National

Jimmy Carter says a full investigation would show Trump lost in 2016, we are not so sure.

Former President Jimmy Carter questioned the legitimacy of Donald Trump’s presidency on Thursday, saying he would likely not be in the White House if the Russians did not interfere in the 2016 presidential election.

“I think a full investigation would show that Trump didn’t actually win the election in 2016. He lost the election, and he was put into office because the Russians interfered on his behalf,”

I have the greatest respect for President Carter, especially after his presidency, including his work for election integrity across the Globe. Yet we need actual actions not speculation.

[read post] | By on July 1, 2019 - Electronic Vulnerability, Internet Security Issues, National, Skulduggery and Errors

The Cyber War? We will all be victims.

NYTimes, David Sanger: U.S. Escalates Online Attacks on Russia’s Power Grid

To me, the basic story is a ho hum. Russia and China are lurking in our power grid and its been known for sometime we are in Russia’s. I would be concerned if we weren’t attempting to match them. All of that is covered in Sanger’s book, The Perfect Weapon, which I am reading right now.

There are two things that are scary in all this:

[read post] | By on June 18, 2019 - Electronic Vulnerability, Internet Security Issues, National

Two and a half years after election possible Russian hack investigated

Almost three years after the first public revelation of hackers’ interference in the 2016 presidential race, the Department of Homeland Security has decided to conduct a forensic analysis of computers used in Durham County during that election,

What we “saw” before smelled more like a cursory cover-up than an investigation.

[read post] | By on June 7, 2019 - Electronic Vulnerability, Skulduggery and Errors

How Dumb Do They Think We Are?

Or are they dumber than we think?

No matter what you think about early voting, we find one argument by Senator Looney and Senator Flexer in a recent editorial completely irrelevant and misleading.

[read post] | By on June 4, 2019 - Legislature 2019, Mail/Absentee Voting, Our Editorials

Beware: The Gospel of Internet Voting

LA Times article features the entrepreneur behind Internet voting pilots vs. Science: The vote-by-phone tech trend is scaring the life out of security experts <read>

With their playbook for pushing government boundaries as a guide, some Silicon Valley investors are nudging election officials toward an innovation that prominent coders and cryptographers warn is downright dangerous for democracy…
As seasoned disruptors of the status quo, tech pioneers have proven persuasive in selling the idea, even as the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine specifically warn against any such experiment…

Tusk is certain participation in elections would surge if the technology were widely permitted, even though studies in some of the few places around the world that have tried the method revealed no big turnout boost

Crusade, Gospel, Genie seem appropriate to describe entrepreneur Tusk. Its a blind disregard for evidence, science, and the scientists, including yours truly, warning of the risks of Internet voting

[read post] | By on May 17, 2019 - Blockchain, Electronic Vulnerability, Internet Voting, National

The Case Against Trusting Democracy to BMDs

Ballot Marking Devices (BMDs) are under consideration by several states for use for all in-person voting. They have paper ballots, “What could possibly go wrong?”.  A recent paper makes the case that they cannot be audited or trusted to provide accurate results. The paper recommends that they should be limited to use by voters that need accessibility:  Ballot-marking devices (BMDs) cannot assure the will of the voters 

not only is it inappropriate to rely on voters to check whether BMDs alter expressed votes, it doesn’t work.

Yet, this paper has been very controversial in election integrity circles. Advocates for those with disabilities argue that everyone should vote the same way on the same equipment, because that is what is needed to provide equality, to incentivize and cause better BMDs that meet everyone’s needs including those for evidence based elections.

[read post] | By on May 4, 2019 - Costs, Electronic Vulnerability, National, Our Editorials, Post-Election Audits

Robert Mueller Showed How U.S. Elections Broke in 2016. Here’s How to Fix Them

Quite inclusive article from TIME: Robert Mueller Showed How U.S. Elections Broke in 2016. Here’s How to Fix Them <read>

Here’s what experts say would strengthen American elections against future attacks.

I fully agree, except possibly with one item on the list.

[read post] | By on April 22, 2019 - Electronic Vulnerability, National

An Election Bill Crib-Sheet

This year I submitted testimony on a total of twenty-three bills. Fortunately, many were easy for us to understand and quite redundant. The General Elections and Administration Committee passed a total of one-hundred and eighteen bills. To me, they should have been much more selective in choosing bills to hear and those to pass. Although most of my testimony opposed bills, some of it was followed by the Committee. We are pleased to support seven bills passed by the Committee and oppose eight.

[read post] | By on April 11, 2019 - Legislature 2019, Our Editorials

Book Review: Bad Blood, Fantasyland, (and Blockchains)

I recently read Bad Blood by John Carreyrou. I could not put it down. Not surprising since it has been on the NYTimes best seller list for months and its the only book I have noticed on Amazon with a full five star rating – with currently just over two-thousand reviews. But for me it was more than that.  It brought back memories of a good portion of my career in the eighties and nineties, along with my last fifteen years concerned with electronic voting.

All reminiscent of Kurt Andersen’s book: Fantasyland: How America Went Haywire: A 500-Year History. To me, just like the California Gold Rush, minus the gold.

[read post] | By on April 8, 2019 - Blockchain, Legislature 2019, National