Ensure Every American Can Vote Show / hideThe Electoral College met on December 14, 2020, to cast their votes for president and vice president of the United States. Individual tallymen may be placed to observe the opening of each box and watch as separate Tallymen, appointed by political candidates and parties, observe the opening of ballot boxes and watch as the individual ballot papers are counted. A tally (also see tally sticks) is an unofficial private observation of an election count carried out under Proportional Representation using the Single Transferable Vote.The move was only a partial concession, and many rightly argue it is hardly enough.McConnell still rejects the need for comprehensive security legislation that many experts say we need. Advance Constitutional Change Show / hideAfter months of enduring the “Moscow Mitch” label, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell surprised many observers in September by throwing his support behind a proposal to provide $250 million in funds for state election security, something he had assiduously rejected all year. National Task Force on Democracy Reform & the Rule of Law Government Targeting of Minority Communities Show / hide Campaign Finance in the Courts Show / hide Election Information and Turnout Data County Election Information and Polling Locations Early Voting Turnout Election Day Voting Turnout Voter Registration.Upgrading voting machines and other critical election infrastructureMost of the public dialogue around election security centers on securing our voting machines. Below I detail each of those items and explain why there is still time for an infusion of cash from Congress to make significant improvements in protecting our election from cyberattacks. The House and Senate will need to compromise to pass a budget, and for now, both sides finally seem to agree that states need more resources to ensure that American elections remain free, fair, and secure from cyberattack.One question we’re hearing a lot at the Brennan Center is: even if there is agreement, is it too late to make a difference for 2020? The answer is no.The Brennan Center has estimated that the national cost for some of the most critical election security measures to be approximately $2.2 billion over the next five years. Still, the move by McConnell makes it much more likely states will see additional money they can use for election security ahead of November 2020.
Vote Tally Software Totals ProvidedAt a certain point, older computerized systems are more likely to fail and difficult to maintain. Still, unless more states and counties move to replace them, the Brennan Center estimates that approximately 16 million Americans will vote on paperless systems in 2020.More broadly, paper backup or not, many voting machines in the United States are so old they pose a security risk. The good news is that we’ve made substantial progress in replacing these machines, nearly halving the number used since 2016. Without that, we do not have an independent record that we can use to make sure we can trust the software totals provided by voting machines.Vote Tally Registration Databases CertainlyIt is worth remembering that while there is no evidence that voting machines were targeted in 2016, voter registration databases certainly were, as they have been in other countries around the world. In a survey last year, local officials in 31 states told the Brennan Center they needed to replace their equipment before the 2020 election, but two-thirds said they did not have the funds to do so.In addition to voting machines, other critical election infrastructure, like voter registration databases, need to be upgraded for better security. Election officials know these machines should be replaced. Many states and counties around the country have or are in the process of having the Department of Homeland Security or other security experts conduct cybersecurity scans of their election-related computer systems. As Bob Brehm, co-executive director of the New York State Board of Elections, recently put it in an interview with the Brennan Center, “it is not reasonable” to expect each of these state and local election offices to independently “defend against hostile nation-state actors.” This is particularly true in the case of local election offices that frequently have little or no in-house IT or cybersecurity resources.The need for cybersecurity expertise (and training for non-expert staff) will continue to be high in 2020. While there are certainly security benefits associated with this decentralization, there are also obvious risks.Foremost among these is the fact that with over 8,000 separate election offices, there are many potential targets — from local election websites that tell people where and when to vote to election night reporting systems, which aggregate vote totals for the public after the polls close. Local cybersecurity training and staffThe vast and decentralized election system in the United States means our elections are largely run at the local level. Zynaptiq pitchmap ilokContingency planningEfforts to prevent attacks in the first place are, of course, critical.
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