Continued from the "What's New" page . . .
According to the legislative synopsis, the Internet Voting Commission Act, �Creates a commission appointed by the legislative leaders to study and recommend to the General Assembly a system of voting via the Internet at elections in 2012 and thereafter.� Cloaked in reassuring terms like �study� and �commission,� this bill is masquerading as a feasibility study of Internet voting.
On closer examination, however, we find that the commission is not the sort of blue-ribbon panel one associates with this type of endeavor, one composed of academics, computer and communications experts, security gurus and voting systems mavens, but in reality is a twelve-member (six after Senate Amendment #1) ad hoc joint committee of the Illinois House and Senate, charged, not with determining the feasibility of cyber voting, but rather with recommending a specific �system of voting via the Internet� by the end of this legislative session.
If enacted in its present form, HB 85 could allow the "committee" to recommend to their colleagues adoption of a "system of Internet Voting" without "studying" Internet Voting per se, or ever reaching the threshold question as to whether-or-not Cyber Voting is feasible, viable or even desirable!
House Amendment No. 1 is especially troubling, providing that the �commission� be created "within the State Board of Elections." We might conclude that the intent of this amendment is to remove the deliberations of the "Commission" from the ordinary disclosure of the General Assembly (public hearings, transcripts, voting records, etc.) to the less transparent functioning of an appointed administrative body.
HB 85 envisions the committee's recommendations as eventually being enacted through enabling legislation � presumably amendments to the Illinois Election Code. And, the mechanism is already in place: HB 92, the shell �Internet Voting Act,� stands ready as a convenient repository for the recommendations dictated by Speaker Madigan and Senate President Cullerton.
Taken as a whole, the Internet Voting Commission Act, as amended, virtually mandates the implementation of Internet voting in Illinois beginning with the 2012 Presidential election.
We urge you to TAKE ACTION TODAY! Write or call your State Senator and Representative and urge them to VOTE NO on HB 85.
Calls are effective, but we strongly recommend that you make your views known in writing.
If you don't know who your Senator or Representative is, click the button below:
 Your Representatives
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Mike Madigan
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The Chicago North Side - South Side Axis at Work
House Speaker Mike Madigan (D-22) and Senate President John Cullerton (D-6) are largely
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John Cullerton
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responsible for the unseemly haste with which HB 85 is being pushed through the General Assembly. (Senator Cullerton was the original Chief Sponsor of HB 85 in the Senate.)
If you think that a stealth bill like HB 85, which threatens to remove transparancy from the election process is the wrong approach for Illinois, why not let them know that you're watching . . . and you don't like what they're doing!
Internet Voting has become a hot topic in Illinois with the introduction of two bills in the 96th General Assembly. HB 85, the Internet Voting Commission Act, and a shell bill, HB 92, the Internet Voting Act.
According to the legislative synopsis, the Internet Voting Commission Act, �Creates a commission appointed by the legislative leaders to study and recommend to the General Assembly a system of voting via the Internet at elections in 2012 and thereafter.�
This Bill was introduced by Lou Lang (D-16th, Deputy House Majority Leader, who also introduced its companion, HB 92, the Internet Voting Act of 2009, a shell bill containing only the short title, but presumably positioned to accept the recommendations of the Internet Voting Commission for enactment as amendments to the Illinois Election Code.
Internet Voting is a complex subject and the general opinion of academics and experts in the field is that the technological hurdles it would have to overcome to be considered safe, secure and accurate are currently too numerous to recommend implementation in public elections. A sampling:
�The security problems on the Internet today verge on insoluble. In fact, it�s possible to prove in a mathematical sense that anti-virus software cannot be effective. The attacks that are possible on the integrity of elections run on the Internet are just without limit. I am extraordinarily suspicious of our ability in any near-term model to get Internet voting reliable for something as important as a national election.�
Douglas W. Jones - University of Iowa -Department of Computer Science � Nov, 2006
Dr. Jones' comments are echoed by those of the group which reviewed the Department of Defense SERVE Internet Voting Project and which led to its termination. They are worth quoting at length:
�The real barrier to success is not a lack of vision, skill, resources, or dedication; it is the fact that, given the current Internet and PC security technology, and the goal of a secure, all-electronic remote voting system, the FVAP has taken on an essentially impossible task. There really is no good way to build such a voting system without a radical change in overall architecture of the Internet and the PC, or some unforeseen security breakthrough.
"In fact, no such security breakthrough has occurred, and we remain convinced that there is no way to secure Internet voting . . . The current Internet and PC architectures are both such highly insecure platforms that it is essentially impossible to develop a secure system for voting in federal elections on them . . . Internet voting systems have numerous other fundamental security problems that generally leave them vulnerable to a variety of well-known cyber attacks (insider attacks, denial of service attacks, spoofing, automated vote buying, viral attacks, etc.), any one of which could be catastrophic.
The vulnerabilities we describe cannot be fixed by better design of Internet voting software. They are fundamental in the architecture of the Internet and of PCs and their software. They cannot be eliminated for the foreseeable future. It is quite likely that they will never be eliminated without a wholesale redesign and replacement of much of the hardware and software security systems that are part of, or connected to, today�s Internet . . . We believe it would be irresponsible to put our democracy at risk by allowing votes to be transmitted over the wide-open and insecure Internet.�
- Comments of Drs. Avi Rubin, David Jefferson & Barbara Simon � May, 2007
Below, we've assembled a non-exhaustive list of articles, papers and opinions so that you can become informed and reach your own conclusions as to the viability of Internet Voting. If you've come across other information that ought to be shared, please send the link and a brief synopsis to the
Webmaster.
Reports
"A Threat Analysis on UOCAVA Voting Systems," National Institute of Standards and Technology - December, 2008
"No Time to Vote - Challenges Facing America's Overseas Military Voters,"
Pew Center on the States - January, 2009
"A comment on the May 2007 DoD report on Voting Technologies for UOCAVA Citizens,"David Jefferson, Avi Rubin and Barbara Simons - May, 2007
"Internet Voting Revisited:
Security and Identity Theft Risks of the DoD�s
Interim Voting Assistance System," David Jefferson, Avi Rubin, Barbara Simons, and David Wagner - October, 2006
"A Security Analysis of the Secure
Electronic Registration and Voting Experiment (SERVE)," David Jefferson, Avi Rubin, Barbara Simons, and David Wagner -January, 2004
"Security Aspects of Internet Voting,"
International Conference on Systems Sciences - January, 2004
Articles
"Computer Technologists� Statement on Internet Voting" - Verified Voting - September, 2008
"Internet Voting Fatally Flawed," Roy Lipscomb - August, 2008
"The Democratic Party's Dangerous Experiment," David Dill & Barbara Simon, Vote Trust - February, 2008
"Internet Voting: Bad Or Good Idea?" George Hulme - February, 2008
"Statement on Electronic Voting," Dr Rebecca Mercuri - March, 2007
"We vote, and how! Forget Internet voting, security expert says," Chicago Tribune - November, 2006
"Panel members find security flaws in Internet voting system," Computer World - January, 2004
"Report Says Internet Voting System Is Too Insecure to Use," New York Times - January, 2004
May 25, 2007. IBIP Opposes National Voter ID Law.
Senators Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Christopher "Kit" Bond (R-MO have introduced an amendment to the current immigration bill before the Senate which attaches a pernicious photo ID requirement to the present bill.
This amendment, unrelated to the basic purpose of the proposed immigration legislation, would amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA) to impose a nation-wide requirement for restrictive photo voter Identification for all Federal Elections. Specifically, the amendment calls for a renumbering of �� 304 and 305 and insertion of a new � 304 to provide for such ID by January 1, 2008 - effective for the next presidential primaries and general election:
SEC. 304. IDENTIFICATION OF VOTERS AT THE POLLS
(a) In General.--Notwithstanding the requirements of section 303(b), each State shall require individuals casting ballots in an election for Federal office in person to present a current valid photo identification issued by a governmental entity before voting.
(b) Effective Date.--Each State shall be required to comply with the requirements of subsection (a) on and after January 1, 2008.
Here's what Mary G. Wilson, President of the League of Women Voters had to say in their press release:
�Senator McConnell�s amendment represents a cheap political trick to keep legal, eligible voters out of the electoral process. Photo ID requirements disproportionately stifle the voices of people of color, the elderly, young people, and others. By tying a photo ID requirement to an already-contentious immigration bill, Senator McConnell is merely attempting to rouse the fears of the American people right before the beginning of one of the most patriotic American holiday weekends.�
�This type of political manipulation has absolutely no place in American democracy.�
�This amendment demonstrates that some lawmakers have become shameless in their efforts to manipulate the election process AND the hearts and souls of the American people for political gain. Our nation has spent most of the last century breaking down barriers to citizen voter participation and the right to vote,� concluded Wilson. �League members will continue to do what it takes to protect eligible voters from new, discriminatory obstacles in the 21st Century and we hope that the silent majority in this country will join us in denouncing tactics such as this.�
IBIP has written to both Senator Dick Durbin and Senator Barak Obama opposing the legislation. A copy of the letter to Senator Obama, setting forth IBIP's arguments against Photo ID, is here
IBIP urges all members and interested parties to write to Members of the Senate and House opposing this legislation. Here is a generic form of IBIP's letter which you can modify and adapt to your own views on Photo ID.
April 14, 2007. IBIP Opposes HR 811 as Currently Written - Proposes Amendments.
The Illinois Ballot Integrity Project has adopted a position in opposition to the current "Holt Bill" (HR 811 - Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of 2007). IBIP's amendments call for the banning of Direct Recording Electronic (DRE) voting machines and for permanent paper ballots marked by hand or non-tabulating ballot marking devices, the abolishment of the Federal Election Assistance Commission (EAC),
10% audits of all Federal races conducted on election night, paper ballots for Military and Overseas voters and the banning of tallying system connections to the Internet.
A copy of the letter sent to the Chairwoman of the Committee on House Administration, Representative Juanita Millender-McDonald, CA-37, and each Member of the Committee, is HERE.
IBIP Members and others are urged to write to their elected representatives. A draft copy of a letter in MSWord is HERE.
Here is a list (with contact information) of Illinois Members who have co-sponsored HR 811.
The IBIP Advisory Committee and Board also approved IBIP's endorsement of the Voters Unite Essential Revisions to HR 811 statement.
April 5, 2007. Illinois Ballot Integrity Project Announces Internet Blog for April 17th Election Problems
"Blog the Election" at the Illinois Election-Problems Clearinghouse.
Voters are urged to share their experiences on IBIP's blog.
March 27, 2007. IBIP DuPage Chapter presents a Report and Recommendations to the DuPage County Board
The Report which details numerous deficiencies in the election process in Dupage County was presented to the DuPage County Election Commission
more than six weeks ago, but no response has been received. The IBIP DuPage
Chapter decided to approach the DuPage County Board in an attempt to get the Commission to act on IBIP's recommendation to improve the
election process in DuPage County. Click here for IBIP's News Release.
February 7, 2007. IBIP Warns of Possible Errors Arising From Bar Codes on DRE Paper Trails
LINK. Relying on bar-coded vote tallies in Chicago and Cook County could alter audit outcomes and violates the Illinois Election Code
For political commentary and good election issue coverage - try BradBlog
For more articles (some dated) see the Archive.
