For Americans who care about verified elections, recent events in India are resonant.  Verified Voting applauds the advocates, ordinary citizens and technologists who are working for accountable voting in the world’s largest democracy.  We support calls for the government of India  to 1) engage constructively, rather than persecute, technologists who have conducted critical research on Indian voting systems; and 2) take immediate steps toward a verifiable voting process suited to India’s needs.

A bit of background for Americans who have not yet tuned in to the controversy:  India adopted a nationwide system of paperless direct-recording electronic voting machines in 2004.  Early on, some Indian computer security experts pointed to the inherent vulnerability of a purely electronic voting process, and a number of journalists and candidates for office raised concerns.  The machines in India are much simpler than those used in America, but are no less vulnerable to wholesale attacks originating from the voting system vendor, and are prone to a number of serious machine-by-machine “retail” attacks.

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In a wired world, it was inevitable that the subject of Internet Voting become a hot topic sooner rather than later. But more than just a topic of discussion, this year eighteen states will allow overseas ballots to be returned via email in November’s elections. Yet according to security experts, voted ballots sent via Internet simply cannot be made secure, and make easy and inviting targets for attackers ranging from lone hackers to foreign governments seeking to undermine US elections.

The Pentagon rejected the idea of returning voted ballots via the internet as recently as 2004, when the SERVE (Secure Electronic Registration and Voting Experiment) project was canceled. In a memo, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz said “In view of the inability to ensure legitimacy of votes that would be cast in the SERVE internet voting project, thereby bringing into doubt the integrity of the election, I hereby direct you to take immediate steps to ensure that no voters use the system to register or vote via the internet.” (more)

Urges Action In Advance of November Elections

U.S. Rep. Rush Holt led a group of 18 members of Congress in urging U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and the Department of Justice to enlist the Department’s enforcement capabilities in advance of the November elections to ensure the viability of voting systems and that votes are counted as cast.

“There has never been a better time for the Department of Justice to act on a critically needed solution.  As such, we ask the Department of Justice to employ its enforcement authority to ensure a voter-verified paper ballot for all votes cast, and manual audits of a random sample of those ballots to check corresponding electronic vote counts in those jurisdictions that are not already planning to perform them.  The voters and the public deserve no less,” they write.

In addition to Holt, signers included Reps. Tammy Baldwin (WI-2), Bruce Braley (IA-1), William Lacy Clay (MO-1), Charles Gonzalez (TX-20), Bart Gordon (TN-6), Alcee Hastings (FL-23), Martin Heinrich (NM-1), Steve Israel (NY-2), Barbara Lee (CA-9), Nita Lowey (NY-18), Carolyn Maloney (NY-14), Jerrold Nadler (NY-8), Frank Pallone (NJ-6), Thomas Perriello (VA-5), Steven Rothman (NJ-9), Betty Sutton (OH-13), and Melvin Watt (NC-12). (more)

The MOVE Act was widely considered one of the bipartisan legislative success stories of 2009. We said earlier this year in our blog that it provides arguably the most significant changes for overseas and military voting since the original UOCAVA law passed in 1986.

It passed largely because of the universal agreement — on both sides of the aisle, in the Department of Defense and state elections offices, and  amongst voting rights advocates — that our active military must be provided the time and means to vote, even from the front lines.

The symbolism of the soldier fighting for his or her country but who cannot participate in its most significant civic ritual is incredibly powerful…and motivating when it comes time for Congresspeople to vote.

This is why it’s so disappointing to see the issue politicized not even one year later.

Read the Entire Article at OVF

Last week, the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) adopted a resolution acknowledging both serious security and privacy concerns related to Internet voting and the need for a verifiable, recountable election process. Verified Voting applauds NASS for adopting this official position.

Military and overseas voters (also called “UOCAVA voters” after the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act) were a major topic at NASS”s summer conference last week in Providence, Rhode Island. States are now working hard to implement a recently enacted amendment to UOCAVA, the Military and Overseas Voter Emplowerment Act of 2009 (MOVE). The MOVE Act’s requirements include delivery of ballots to military and overseas voters 45 days prior to Federal elections and the option for electronic delivery of blank ballots to UOCAVA voters.

One of the primary topics at the conference was a policy not required by MOVE: the use of the Internet for the return of completed ballots to election officials. Some states, for example West Virginia and Arizona, are experimenting with various forms of Internet voting, and over 30 states now allow, under varying circumstances, e-mail or fax delivery of voted ballots from UOCAVA voters. (more)

Verified Voting joins with Civil Rights and Accessibility/Usability advocates across the country in celebrating the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) on July 26, 1990.

ADA provides civil rights protections to individuals with disabilities similar to those provided to individuals on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, age, and religion. It guarantees equal opportunity for individuals with disabilities in public accommodations, employment, transportation, state and local government services and telecommunications. The law covers a wide range of disability, from physical conditions affecting mobility, stamina, sight, hearing, and speech to conditions such as emotional illness and learning disorders and addresses access to the workplace, State and local government services, and places of public accommodation and commercial facilities.

In a PSA released in advance of today’s commemorative event at the White House, President Obama noted, “the Act was a huge step forward for the 50 million people in this country living with a disability. It helped renew the promise that, here in America, we are defined not by our limitations, but by our potential. As we celebrate the 20th anniversary of this historic legislation, it’s important to remember that we are still fulfilling that promise.”

More information about ADA is available here.