Securing the Vote Protecting American Democracy (2018) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
6 Analysis of Systemic Issues
6 Analysis of Systemic Issues
Pages 107-120
The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.
From page 107... ...
They work intermittently during election cycles, often only on Election Day. In larger jurisdictions, election administrators supervise larger staffs who may have attended some continuing education classes on election management offered by other in-state organizations of local public officials or the state election authority.
|
From page 108... ...
Modern elections are more complex and consequently require election administrators with more specialized skills. Training and education programs in election administration are limited, and there are scant resources available to professionalize the election workforce.
|
From page 109... ...
devices.The EAC reports that, "through September 30, 2015, a total of $3,247,294,645 has been made 3 See HAVA Section 101. In addition to upgrading voting systems, states were to use HAVA funds for the purposes of "improving the administration of elections for Federal office;" "educating voters concerning voting procedures, voting rights, and voting technology;" "training election officials, poll workers, and election volunteers;" and "improving the accessibility and quantity of polling places, including providing physical access for individuals with disabilities, providing nonvisual access for individuals with visual impairments, and providing assistance to Native Americans, Alaska Native citizens, and to individuals with limited proficiency in the English language." 4 See HAVA, Part 1, Election Assistance Commission.
|
From page 110... ...
The service life of most new voting hardware and software purchased and installed immediately after the passing of HAVA is 10-15 years, and states now lacking HAVA funds have to go to extraordinary lengths to keep their aging systems operational."8 "The election technology industry has come to be characterized by a consolidated, highly concentrated market dominated by a few major vendors, where industry growth and competition are constrained." "The firms in the election technology industry sell integrated voting solutions, typically including a package of hardware, software, services and support. The industry has a two-tier structure with .
|
From page 111... ...
NCLS estimates that the cost per unit for precinct optical scanners ranges from $2,500 to $5,000 and that the cost of a central count optical scanner ranges from $70,000 to $100,000.11 "The Brennan Center estimates it could cost well over $1 billion to replace all of the voting machines that should be replaced in the next few years."12 Some election administrators are exploring alternatives to the current private-sector, for-profit marketplace for election systems. Several jurisdictions are exploring the development of open-source or publicly-owned voting systems that use commercial off-the shelf (COTS)
|
From page 112... ...
Clerk has been studying how to improve the security and efficiency of electronic voting systems while making incremental changes in existing processes to anticipate and effectively confront emerging threats. Travis County collaborated with experts in computer science, cryptography and computer security, statistics, and human factor engineering to build a voting system to resolve concerns about electronic voting.
|
From page 113... ...
The One4All system was used in 2016 primaries as well as the presidential election.20 In the voting marketplace, the STAR vote proposal, the VSAP project, and the Prime III system are all possible bases for an open-source software base. In this setting, jurisdictions, singly or collectively, would have to assume the costs and time associated with the certification of their opensource voting system.21 Public-private partnerships could spark innovation in the voting technology marketplace.
|
From page 114... ...
The high cost of maintenance agreements and the bundling of system hardware, software, and services limits election administrators' flexibility with regard to future purchases of voting systems. The expense of purchasing electronic voting systems or purchasing enough extra inventory of paper, optical scan ballots (and resources to secure them)
|
From page 115... ...
6.6 The U.S. Election Assistance Commission and the National Insti tute of Standards and Technology should continue to collaborate on changes to the certification process that encourage the modern ization of voting systems.
|
From page 116... ...
On the other, the lack of a single national voting system may offer some protection against widespread compromise of the results of an election. That limited protection may be negated, however, when attackers can use comprehensive data analysis to target voting jurisdictions that can change the outcome of an election.26 When exercising federal authority, the government has recognized that, while election administration is primarily a state and local responsibility, there are occasions where the federal government should play a leading role by providing resources that will nudge election administrators in certain 24 The Act, the Apportionment Act of 1842, states that, "in every case where a State is en titled to more than one Representative, the number to which each State shall be entitled under this apportionment shall be elected by districts, composed of contiguous territory, equal in number to the number of Representatives to which said State may be entitled; no one district electing more than one Representative." 25 Prior to this time, Congress allowed states to conduct presidential elections at any point in the 34 days before the first Wednesday in December -- the meeting of the state electoral colleges.
|
From page 117... ...
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) , to designate election infrastructure as a subsector of the existing Government Facilities critical infrastructure sector, placing it on par with sectors such as banking and electricity.
|
From page 118... ...
"regionally located personnel who engage state and local governments, election crime coordinators, and vendors to offer immediate and sustained assistance, coordination, and outreach to prepare and protect from cyber and physical threats;" and (5) access to "cybersecurity operations centers that maintain close coordination among the private sector, government officials, the intelligence community, and law enforcement to provide situational awareness and incident response, as appropriate."29 As discussed in Chapter 1, Congress created the EAC to serve as a clearinghouse for election administration research and information and to award federal funds to allow states to replace antiquated voting systems and to improve election administration.
|
From page 119... ...
The designation by DHS of election systems as a subsector of the existing government facilities critical infrastructure sector is correct and appropriate. This designation reflects appropriately the need for sophisticated technical expertise and sharing of intelligence information required to protect the nation's election infrastructure.
|
From page 120... ...
Election Assistance Commission with data on voting system failures during elections as well as information on other difficulties arising during elections (e.g., long lines, fraudulent voting, intrusions into voter registration databases, etc.)
|
Key Terms
This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More
information on Chapter Skim is available.