Under current technology, no practically proven method exists to securely, verifiably, or privately return voted materials over the internet.
Dear John,
With so much going on in the world, you may not have heard about the passing of Puerto Rico’s Senate Bill 1314, also known as the “Puerto Rico Electoral Code of 2020.” If signed, this bill would establish a pilot program for online voting during the 2020 election cycle, and ramp up to making online voting the default option for Puerto Rican voters by 2028.
Under current technology, no practically proven method exists to securely, verifiably, or privately return voted materials over the internet. Three dozen experts have joined Verified Voting in a letter to Puerto Rico Governor Wanda Vázquez Garced outlining the dangers of this plan, and we have partnered with a number of civil rights organizations to raise awareness and urge the public to take action via social media.
This bill predates the spread of COVID-19 and its impact on recent primaries. But with state legislatures looking for strategies to minimize crowds at polling places, we expect it may not be the last proposal of its kind we see this cycle. And even as other states look to paper-based measures such as vote by mail and expanded absentee ballot options, it is important that we not lose sight of the need to integrate election security best practices into these plans, so that we can create a trustworthy voting record and transparent processes for checking the results.
Vote by mail has a significant role to play to reduce the number of voters congregating at polling places. As states pivot to majority mail-in ballots, we urge them to adopt practices that ensure proper ballot tracking, best practices for signature verification, ballot accounting and chain of custody procedures, and transparent post-election tabulation audits. With proper planning, these critical elements can bolster citizen confidence in elections.
Our Verified Voting team is fortunate to have made a quick transition to remote work to ensure we can continue to keep you informed on developments both large and small - and more importantly, continue working to ensure that all voters can cast their ballots safely and securely. Please take care, stay safe, and keep sending us your questions and thoughts: we always appreciate hearing from you.
