Their are Multiple Pending Bills in Congress seeking to Improve Voting System Security would Mandate the use of Paper Ballots.

If the Security of Voting Systems in the Next Election will be a Function of the Amount of Legislation on the Topic now Pending in Congress, we’ve got nothing to worry about in November 2020.

There is a growing Pile of Bills in both the House and Senate, most Featuring Several to Dozens of Cosponsors, sometimes even from Both Parties, accompanied by Press Releases with Made-to-Order Endorsements from Congressional Leaders, Advocacy Groups, and Cybersecurity Experts.

They All call for Securing U.S. Elections and Protecting our Democracy.

But, of course, the Number of Bills doesn’t matter. It’s about Quality, not Quantity.

The things that do matter are what gets Enacted into Law and whether its Mandates get Done or get Watered Down.

And that, as the Predictable Cliché goes, Remains to be Seen.

The Bills, or Discussion Drafts of them, are coming from Both Parties.

They include:

- Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), are pushing the Defending Elections From Threats by Establishing Redlines Act, which would Sanction anyone who Attacks a U.S. Election.

- Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), and 12 Cosponsors filed the Protecting American Votes and Elections (PAVE) Act of 2019 in May. Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR, 3rd District), introduced the Companion Bill in the House.

- Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), filed the Election Security Act with 38 Cosponsors.

At the end of June, the House Passed the Securing America’s Federal Elections Act (SAFE), sponsored by Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA, 19th District), who Chairs the Committee on House Administration. It has been Referred to the Senate, where its chances of Passage are said to be Dubious.

While the various Bills have different emphases, they Collectively have Provisions that have been Recommended by Cybersecurity Experts for years.

Among them:

- Prohibit Wireless Modems in Voting Machines.

- Require Individual, Durable, Voter-Verified Paper Ballots.

- Make a Voter's Marked Ballot available for Inspection and Verification by the Voter before the Vote is Cast. Don't know how an Absentee Ballot or any Online Pilots would work.

- Establish Cybersecurity Standards for Voting Systems Vendors.

- Require Voting Systems to be Manufactured in the U.S.

- Require Voting Systems to be Tested Nine Months before an Election.

- Require the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) to:

(1) Award Grants to States to Replace certain Voting Systems, Carry Out Voting System Security Improvements, and Implement and Model Best Practices for Ballot Design, Ballot Instructions, and the Testing of Ballots.

(2) Conduct Risk-Limiting Audits.

Those Provisions are getting Generally, but not Unanimously, good Reviews from the Security and Privacy Community.

Common Cause issued a Press Release before the House Passed the SAFE Act, urging Members to Support it. The Group is also on record, along with Democracy 21, End Citizens United, Protect Democracy, and the Brennan Center for Justice, in Support of Klobuchar’s Election Security Act.

Matt Blaze, an Election Security Expert and Professor of Computer Science and Law at Georgetown University, issued an Endorsement of the PAVE Act, saying “these sensible standards and practices would greatly reduce the risk that errors or malicious hacking—even by well-resourced nation states—would lead to incorrect election outcomes.”

And Bruce Schneier, Author, Blogger, and Cryptography Expert, who has written extensively on Election Security, said the Collective Goals of the various Bills amount to “a really good wish list.”









NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker