Web campaign warns against online voting

A new Web campaign is warning voters against using the Internet to cast their ballots this year, a new report in Joseph Farah’s G2 Bulletin explains.

A coalition of the Verified Voting Foundation, the Electronic Privacy Information Center and Common Cause has created the Secret Ballot Risk page to warn that the integrity of elections is at risk.

“The right to cast a secret ballot in a public election is a core value in the United States’ system of self-governance. Secrecy and privacy in elections guard against coercion and are essential to integrity in the electoral process,” the groups explain.

However, “as states permit the marking and transmitting of marked ballots over the Internet, the integrity of our elections is put at risk.”

This year’s presidential election presents a stark choice between a Hillary Clinton administration that largely would follow President Obama’s agenda and a Donald Trump administration that threatens to upend the Washington political establishment.

For the rest of this report, and others, go to Joseph Farah’s G2 Bulletin.

The organization has created a report on the issue noting that 32 states and the District of Columbia allow some form of Internet voting via email, electronic fax or Internal portal.

Voting through the Internet, however, invariably requires the attachment of a name to a ballot.

“Most states that offer Internet voting recognize that limitation and require voters to sign a waiver of their right to a secret ballot,” the coalition explains. “The authors believe that Internet voting creates a second-class system for some voters – one in which their votes may not be private and their ballots may be altered without their knowledge.”

It continues: “Our findings show that the vast majority of states (44) have constitutional provisions guaranteeing secrecy in voting, while the remaining states have statutory provisions referencing secrecy in voting. Despite that, 32 states allow some voters to transmit their ballots via the Internet which, given the limitations of current technology, eliminates the secrecy of the ballot. Twenty-eight of these states require the vote to sign a waiver of his or her right to a secret ballot. The remainder fail to acknowledge the issue.”

The coalition’s “concern lies with the transmission of marked ballots via the Internet.”

“We need look no further than the warning all Alaska voters receive if they use the online voting system to cat their absentee ballots. Alaska acknowledges that the system is insecure and may not work, warning voters that ‘when returning the ballot through the secure online delivery system, your (sic) are voluntarily waving (sic) your right to a secret ballot and are assuming the risk that a faulty transmission may occur.’ A similar warning on a physical polling place voting system would be considered unacceptable.”

For the rest of this report, and others, go to Joseph Farah’s G2 Bulletin.

 

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