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

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.

33 of 215 comments (clear)

  1. Hey, great idea by Opportunist · · Score: 5, Funny

    Now we don't even need to get influence from abroad, we can simply let them hack the devices and vote directly.

    Cut out the middle man, it's the capitalist way!

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    1. Re:Hey, great idea by Rick+Schumann · · Score: 2

      No kidding. Smartphones are so full of security holes to start with, and where's that statistic about how many smartphones may be part of a botnet right now and the owners of the phones don't even know it? Here's an idea how ths can go wrong: the source of the app itself gets hacked, and the app replaced with a hacked version or a look-alike version, that changes your vote(s) to whatever the hackers want. That'd be my first choice. My next choice would be malware that intercepts the communication from the legitimate app and changes the data. Any number of ways this could be corrupted.

    2. Re:Hey, great idea by davide+marney · · Score: 2, Insightful

      And, as a bonus, it would let you trace an individual face to a specific vote! Wow! What a great idea.

      Oh, wait.

      --
      "We receive as friendly that which agrees with, we resist with dislike that which opposes us" - Faraday
  2. he who counts the votes by spiritplumber · · Score: 2

    wins.

    --
    Liberty - Security - Laziness - Pick any two.
  3. Photo of their government-issued identification by AHuxley · · Score: 2

    Thats an interesting start.
    It allows any numbers and stats on the issued ID to get some deeper database work as the voters has given their data to the government.
    The unique faces shows the US citizen exists and that their face is connected to presented photo ID.

    This gets around the state trying to collected information about a voter. Trying to find out if they have voted many, many times in the same election.

    The state ID proves citizenship.
    That the ID has not been shared, is not fake.
    That a real US citizen exists once as a voter with that issued ID.

    --
    Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
  4. They didn't state which countries troops. by jellomizer · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Hacking aside.
    The biggest issue I see, is it takes the privacy out of voting.
    We should be able to vote without our pastor looking over our solders judging us, or a Union Rep who may decide that your department may be OK for a layoff so they can bring in other workers. A Boss who may just fire you on the spot...

    Voting our conscious without direct personal repercussion is one of our basic rights. And one of our few powers that we have to actually change those who lead us.

    So the question will be on voting day, how many Church Congregations, Union Meetings, will there be to show people how to use the app.

    --
    If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
    1. Re:They didn't state which countries troops. by Gavagai80 · · Score: 2

      So the question will be on voting day, how many Church Congregations, Union Meetings, will there be to show people how to use the app.

      Zero, because it says right in the summary this is for military troops living abroad only.

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      This space intentionally left blank
  5. 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.

  6. Silly by dkman · · Score: 2

    So now they should create an iOS, android, windows, blackberry, etc app so that you can vote? Or do they pick only the top 2 and screw everybody else?

    If they want to move that way then just do it via web site. But you need to have the verification in place to prove that I cast my vote.

    Does a drivers license even prove citizenship? My father in law has a drivers license but isn't a citizen.

    --
    I refuse to sign
  7. 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.

  8. Re:and your boss can force you to vote there way i by RickyShade · · Score: 2

    vote there way in the office or your fired.

    their*, you're*

  9. 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
  10. Re:Verified voting, what could go wrong? by CanHasDIY · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Therein lies the rub, doesn't it?

    On the one hand, anonymous voting protects the voter from retaliation, but puts the entire process at risk of compromise.

    "Named voting," conversely, puts the voter at risk but does a lot to secure the process.

    Seems like paper ballots + presenting gov't issued photo ID to receive said ballot is a much better process in both ways.

    --
    An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
  11. Unless of course... by Archfeld · · Score: 3, Insightful

    This won't end well. Based on the news stories of how well most facial recognition works on African Americans it will probably only allow one black person to vote and ID the rest as the same person.

    https://www.nytimes.com/2018/0...

    --
    errr....umm...*whooosh* *whoosh* Is this thing on ?
    1. Re:Unless of course... by PopeRatzo · · Score: 2, Funny

      This won't end well. Based on the news stories of how well most facial recognition works on African Americans it will probably only allow one black person to vote and ID the rest as the same person.

      For West Virginians, that's a feature, not a bug.

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
  12. Re:Damn right! by Archfeld · · Score: 2

    If you look even further back, the republican and democratic party have switched positions several times. What we need is open primaries so we can vote for the candidate and NOT the party. Both Party machines have become a plague on America, money and influence peddlers of the worst kind.

    --
    errr....umm...*whooosh* *whoosh* Is this thing on ?
  13. 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.

    1. Re:Absentee Ballots by MobyDisk · · Score: 2

      Require it be post marked from a location not less than 20 miles from your otherwise assigned polling place or accompanied by a written statement on pain of purgery that you were physically unable to travel to the polling place (hospitalized, deployed as a member of the armed forces etc).

      Most absentee ballots are from people overseas on vacations, business, school, etc. Hardly anyone uses one within 20 miles from their polling place. FYI: Some states do require a written statement.

  14. Re:and your boss can force you to vote there way i by Geoffrey.landis · · Score: 4, Informative

    But is it illegal to let someone else tell you who to vote for?

    No: what's illegal is coercion, or attempts to intimidate or threaten a voter to vote a particular way. https://www.law.cornell.edu/us...

    We had a meeting yesterday where our CEO went over who to vote for. I think most people just did what they were told. Our ballots are due today. I think most people just did what they were told to

    That might be a grey area; since the CEO presumably has hiring and firing authority over the workers, so you could see it as maybe edging toward coercion. I'd say that, given a secret ballot, it's not coercion, since they can't actually tell whether you vote as they suggest or not. But, of course, a non-secret ballot makes coercion a lot more practical.

    since, for example, who is going to do the research to pick from 30 different senate primary candidates? Thirty!

    --
    http://www.geoffreylandis.com
  15. Re:No moron, Putin admitted he wanted Trump by CanHasDIY · · Score: 3, Informative

    The entire Russian operation, mostly after the election, was to sow discord and distrust

    Judging by this conversation, I'd say they succeeded.

    --
    An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
  16. Absentee ballots are a flaw in the system by Geoffrey.landis · · Score: 2

    It's sad how many of my friends have said that happened to them. I had trouble believing that until my company asked us to bring our ballots to an all hands meeting. They put a filled out ballot up on the screen and suggested we copy what we saw on the screen. It was a really awkward meeting.

    I'd be very interested in seeing somebody put this into print in a citeable source.

    It's a good reason to restrict absentee ballots to only people who actually are absent, or physically can't vote in person.

    --
    http://www.geoffreylandis.com
  17. Who will do the voting? by Jerry · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Stalin is reported to have said that "It doesn't matter who votes. What matters is who COUNTS the votes".

    iPhones are in a walled garden run by Apple. Google controls Android phones. Will ballots cast for Conservatives be lost "by mistake" while traveling through their system?

    Apple and Google are even now massively censoring and/or blocking any political content on their platforms except that posted by the Extreme Left. When called out on it, the excuse is always a "mistake" but such mistakes are made too often for that to be an excuse any longer.

      A member of SJW, BLM, AntiFa, CPAUSA, RCP, DSA, SPUSA - of which Ms Ocasio-Cortez is a member, which are essentially indistinguishable from the "Liberal" Democrats, can post a racists screed on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, or other forum controlled by Leftists with impunity. The same post re-posted by Conservatives but with changes to the race of the ridiculed target are immediately blocked by social media for violating "Term of Service", if they give any reason at all. Even death threats by the "Liberals" are allowed on those social media platforms. The Blatant bias is overwhelmingly obvious.

    Maxine Waters proved the meaning of the world "Liberal" with her infamous slip of her slippery tongue:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?...
    when she declared "this Liberal would be all about nationalizing US oil". She's now demanding that the Extreme Left chase down and harass Conservatives if found in public places. Next they'll demand that Conservatives where gold stars in public to make them easier to identify.

    A South American "Liberal" who ran for office and later declared he was a Marxist after he won, Chavez, nationalized oil in Venezuela, after whipping up a class envy storm lathered with the promise of lots of government freebies paid for by oil. Venezuela, once the richest nation in South America because of its oil reserves, is now a classic Marxist hell-hole run by the Marxist Murado who, like Chaves, is always blaming America for his problems, just the way "Liberal" politicians in the major US metropolitan ghettos are always blaming Conservatives for problems of their own making over the last 50+ years the "Liberals" have been in power in those places. The same Venezuelans who voted for the socialist freebies have lost an average of 10Kg due to starvation. They have eaten up all their pets, the local birds, and nearby wild animals and are now desperately trying to leave Venezuela for better places. If the Marxist gain power in the US then many Americans will be loosing 10Kg as well, not just the obese.

    --

    Running with Linux for over 20 years!

  18. Re: and your russians can force you to vote there by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    Since Obama knew about the "hacks" but did nothing, by your reasoning, Barack Obama colluded with the Russians to get Trump elected.

    McConnell told Obama he'd deny the allegations if Obama went public, and given the pizzagate lunacy, the Republican base would have 100% believed him and Obama would look like he was manipulating the election himself. Other than dumping the data and thereby betraying god knows how many sources, how do you propose he should have bypassed McConnell and the party of puppets? It's the same logic that blames Obama for Gitmo when the Republicans actively passed measures to forbid him from spending a red cent to close the camp.

  19. Re:Damn right! by Gavagai80 · · Score: 2

    Come to California. We have non-party primaries with the general election being a runoff between the top two.

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    This space intentionally left blank
  20. Re:The hypocrisy from the left is astounding by Geoffrey.landis · · Score: 2

    The same people who whine about "voting barriers" are now whining about the removal of a voting barrier?

    I'm not whining about voting barriers.

    I am whining about voting integrity.

    http://votingintegrity.org/

    --
    http://www.geoffreylandis.com
  21. Re:and your boss can force you to vote there way i by XXongo · · Score: 4, Insightful

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

    Wow, that is seriously illegal.

    Next time it happens, document it and put their ass in jail.

  22. Re:Verified voting, what could go wrong? by cayenne8 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Seems like paper ballots + presenting gov't issued photo ID to receive said ballot is a much better process in both ways.

    Yeah, but according to some, a simple common sense solution like this is apparently "racist" these days.......

    --
    Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
  23. Re:Damn right! by XXongo · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Then in the Reagan years they completely abandoned the idea of cheap, small government,

    The annual budget of the US government does not actually support that claim. Cheap, small government was abandoned to a small extent by Clinton, then ...

    No. Reagan talked a great game about small government, but what he did was increase the size of government and greatly increase deficit spending.

    Republicans only talk about how important it is to reduce government spending when they're not in power.

  24. Re:Verified voting, what could go wrong? by easyTree · · Score: 2

    The elephant in the room is that politicians aren't representing the will of the electorate. It makes no difference how they are chosen.

  25. Re:Verified voting, what could go wrong? by bluefoxlucid · · Score: 2

    You'd be surprised at what's out there. Plenty of services will sell you voting history and voter research--some know everything you've purchased and considered purchasing, and will recommend things to say, issues to target, and what kind of money to ask for (politicians run on everyone else's money, and even a well-funded PAC can only donate $5,000) based on everything about your life.

    The campaign services market is a very dark place. You can learn more about people than they know about themselves by trying to get their vote--and that's before you talk to them.

  26. Re:Verified voting, what could go wrong? by dryeo · · Score: 2

    Well, for example, here in Canada, where we've had voter ID requirements for a long time had a Conservative government, who took advice from the Republicans. They claimed that the ID laws weren't strict enough and greatly reduced the types of ID that were valid. Then they did some other trickery.
    My wife has always voted under her maiden name, and all her ID is in her maiden name, and she is also of the wrong race. Last election, she was still registered under her maiden name according to the official voters registration web site, but upon showing up to vote, she was suddenly registered in her married name, with no ID under that name.
    That's one example of strict ID laws disenfranchising people.
    Another is my Son, he's ID wasn't good enough and didn't have time to travel the 50+ mile round trip to get better ID, which cost $75, so couldn't vote.
    Then there were all the natives on reservations who don't have numbered addresses as required on the ID, the university students who hadn't bothered changing the address on their ID while attending university who were also disenfranchised.
    Voter ID laws are good until someone decides to use them to disenfranchise people who can vote.

    --
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverted_totalitarianism
  27. Re:Verified voting, what could go wrong? by dryeo · · Score: 2

    Depends on whether things are set up to make it hard for certain segments of society to get ID. Though it usually targets neighbourhoods rather then race.
    Just put all the ID producing offices in the rich neighbourhoods with no transit there and short hours, and bang, you've made it hard for certain people to get ID.
    Of course you can also get creative, minor typos on the ID or voter list of undesirables so that ID isn't good enough to use for voting.
    The racism comes in when the people designing the ID requirements are racist.

    --
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverted_totalitarianism
  28. Re:and your boss can force you to vote there way i by AmiMoJo · · Score: 2

    An app could actually help you here. It could have a "duress mode" where it casts a fake ballot and records video with the camera, so when you boss is checking to make sure you voted the way they want it's also gathering evidence of their crime.

    Of course the real app won't have that, but certainly will be riddled with security flaws. Place your bets now, I'll put five bucks on using HTTP to submit votes.

    --
    const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
    SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC