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West Virginia To Introduce Mobile Phone Voting For Midterm Elections (cnn.com)

Posted by msmash on from the up-next dept.

West Virginians serving overseas will be the first in the country to cast federal election ballots using a smartphone app, a move designed to make voting in November's election easier for troops living abroad. But election integrity and computer security experts expressed alarm at the prospect of voting by phone, and one went so far as to call it "a horrific idea." CNN: The state's decision to pioneer mobile voting comes even as the United States grapples with Russian interference in its elections. A recent federal indictment outlined Russia's attempts to hack US voting infrastructure during the 2016 presidential race, and US intelligence agencies have warned of Russian attempts to interfere with the upcoming midterm election. Still, West Virginia Secretary of State Mac Warner and Voatz, the Boston company that developed the app, insist it is secure. Anyone using it must first register by taking a photo of their government-issued identification and a selfie-style video of their face, then upload them via the app. Voatz says its facial recognition software will ensure the photo and video show the same person. Once approved, voters can cast their ballot using the Voatz app.

6 of 215 comments (clear)

  1. and your boss can force you to vote there way in by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 5, Interesting

    and your boss can force you to vote there way in the office or your fired.

  2. Re:and your boss can force you to vote there way i by greenwow · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Same with voting by mail here in Washington state. Twice my employer has asked for signed blank ballots.

  3. Re:and your boss can force you to vote there way i by CanHasDIY · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Seriously?

    Have you reported them to the authorities? Pretty sure such electoral subversion is a felony.

    --
    An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
  4. Horrible idea by XXongo · · Score: 1, Interesting
    Oh, man, what a horribly stupid idea this is. They want voting on insecure systems to use insecure networks to tally votes onto insecure platforms, and all with no paper trail.

    Politicians in West Virginia have never heard of hax0rz? Or are they deliberately trying to make elections hackable?

    Everybody from West Virginia: write to WB Secretary of State Mac Warner, and tell him that this is stupid, stupid, stupid.

  5. Absentee Ballots by atrex · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Exactly wth is wrong with the current absentee ballot system? Or are they trying to imply that the mail isn't routinely and reliably delivered/sent to and from military bases abroad?

    Heck, the only way to even remotely make this phone app accurate and secure is to _mail_ the service men and women a unique passkey to log their vote with. But even then, it's data in a database connected to the bloody internet, not to mention that they'd have only the word of the service provider that there votes were credited anonymously and not tied to their identity.

  6. Re:and your boss can force you to vote there way i by 1ucius · · Score: 1, Interesting

    >and your boss can force you to vote there way in the office or your fired.

    It also enables pay-for-votes (the de facto limiting factor has been the inability to confirm someone voted a certain way)

    In big races, they already spend a few hundred dollars per voter in advertising. Direct payments would be a lot more effective.