BradCast DefCon: David Jefferson on hacking of almost every voting machine

As Brad says

Hopefully, what happened in Vegas does not stay in Vegas

We are not so optimistic.  We have a long history of getting excited about voting irregularities and risks, followed by officials and the general public moving on.

[read post] | By on August 2, 2017 - Electronic Vulnerability, HowDoWeKnow, National

CTVotersCount is 10 Years Old

BirthdaycakeToday marks the 10th anniversary of CTVotesCount. We had been planning the organization and the blog for a couple of months – we launched after the end of a summer vacation. We wondered if there would be any news during August?.  Coincidentally, the Top To Bottom Review commissioned by the Secretary of the State of California was just coming out – that was quite a start – the Top To Bottom Review remains an important landmark in voting integrity.

Our goals remain:

[read post] | By on July 31, 2017 - CT

Common Sense: Limits on Testing From Turing to Self Driving Cars

At first this may not seem like Common Sense. We have the famous Turing Halting Problem which has some very important consequences for voting which may not, at first, make common sense:

[read post] | By on July 26, 2017 - Common Sense, Electronic Vulnerability

The NEW Rob Georgia

While attention was appropriately aimed at FL and OH respectively in 2000 and 2004, Georgia perhaps remains as the most questionable state for voting integrity in the nation.  Many overlooked the questionable elections there highlighted by Bev Harris in Chapter 11 of Black Box Voting: Rob Georgia, Noun or Verb? <read>

Now we have the story on the vulnerabilities in Georgia in 2017 by Kim Zetter.  Here is her 20 minute interview on yesterday’s Fresh Air: <listen>

And her earlier extensive article at Politico:  Will the Georgia Special Election Be Hacked? <read>

“I was like whoa, whoa. … I did not mean to do that. … I was absolutely stunned, just the sheer quantity of files I had acquired,” he tells Politico Magazine in his first interview since discovering the massive security breach.

As Georgia prepares for a special runoff election this month in one of the country’s most closely watched congressional races, and as new reports emerge about Russian attempts to breach American election systems, serious questions are being raised about the state’s ability to safeguard the vote…

Be careful what you ask for. Georgia has gone from risky to even more questionable as the Secretary of State’s office is taking over the programming of the voting systems from Kennesaw State U. as the Secretary is running for Governor.

[read post] | By on July 21, 2017 - Electronic Vulnerability, National

Do Not Hide Voter Information

Voting as we know it, depends on two important keys that are often difficult for the public, media, and sometimes even experts to understand.

Voting rolls and check-in lists need to be available to every citizen, young and old, so that the public can be assured that only registered voters voted, that they voted in the correct primary, that the number of ballots match the number of voters checked in, and that those checked in actually did vote. Otherwise there is no basis for trust in democracy.

Public voting rolls provide the only means for individuals and news organizations to independently investigate voting fraud; they provide officials with the credible proof that fraud is limited; and they help the public to trust in decisions by the State Elections Enforcement Commission.

 

[read post] | By on July 17, 2017 - CT, Our Editorials

Join us in the Battle for the Internet

Its actually a battle for the information necessary for citizens to maintain democracy:

Battle fro the Internet: Write the FCC and contact Congress: <Battle For the Net>

[read post] | By on July 11, 2017 - National

Response to ill-advised Presidential Commission risks democracy

There is much to criticize in the Trump Commission.  Yet there is no excuse for officials to unilaterally disobey the law.  There are reasons for voting lists and voting history to be public documents.  Perhaps we can providing a teaching moment.

[read post] | By on July 7, 2017 - CT, National

4th of July Suggestion

As we often do, a suggested reading for the 4th of July weekend.  It has been a while since we have read the Declaration.  As we said six years ago:

This weekend is a great time to [re-]read the Declaration of Independence. We find it very inspiring to read it sometime around the 4th of July each year.  As we have discussed before, some believe that the right to vote is more fundamental than the Constitution. Here is a link to a copy for your reading <Declaration of Independence>

The Declaration of Independence asserts our rights to determine and change our form of government – without voting integrity we lose that most fundamental of rights.

“The right to vote… is the primary right by which other rights are protected” – Thomas Paine

[read post] | By on July 1, 2017 - National

Russians not the only threat to our elections

Many articles on the Congressional hearings on the “Russian” hacking or not hacking of our elections.  Brad Friedman and Mark Karlin come closet to my opinions:

Recent article by Mark Karlin referencing Brad Friedman:  Beyond the Russians, Electronic Voting Machines Are Vulnerable to Any Hackers  

Journalists and activists have been sounding the alarm about electronic voting machines and their proprietary software for years. The vulnerability of these machines to hacking has not been front and center for some time — primarily due to the failure of the corporate media and legislative bodies to take it seriously. That changed, to some extent, with the charges about Russian hacking from US intelligence agencies. However, the current emphasis is on the Russians allegedly attempting to influence the 2016 election, not on the flawed electronic voting machines that make hacking possible…

Meanwhile, our Secretary of the State continues to spread myths about the safety of voting systems not connected to the internet and “tamper-proof” seals that are at best “tamper-evident”. 

We add that paper ballots are insufficient.  They need protection from tampering.  We need sufficient audits and recounts.  Audits and recounts that are comprehensive and convincing.  Audits and recounts that are transparent and publicly verifiable.f

[read post] | By on June 27, 2017 - CT, Electronic Vulnerability, National

Hacking voting systems is/was easy

Article in the Atlantic summarizes some of the bad news from the last couple of weeks:  There’s No Way to Know How Compromised U.S. Elections Are <read>

So let us not be complacent. Just because you do not understand something, does not mean that hundreds and thousands of others can’t easily hack it.

[read post] | By on June 21, 2017 - Electronic Vulnerability, National