INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
As primaries ramp up in states across the U.S., concerns about election cybersecurity are mounting too
This week, a group of Democratic senators introduced a bill to mitigate some of the well-established risks that the nation uneven mix of
voting machines and election systems poses.
The new bill, known as the Protecting American Votes and Elections Act, proposes two significant
First, because not all digital voting systems produce a paper trail, it would require all state and local elections to ensure that their
equipment produces voter-verified paper ballots that can be cross-referenced
Second, for all federal elections regardless of outcome, state and local governments would be required to conduct audits comparing digital
ballots to a random selection of paper ballots
The latter policy would cover the 22 states that currently don&t require audits following elections.
&Leaving the fate of America democracy
up to hackable election machines is like leaving your front door open, unlocked and putting up a sign that says ‘out of town.& It not a
question of if bad guys get in, it just a question of when,& Oregon Senator Ron Wyden said in a statement accompanying the bill.
Voting
integrity is one of Wyden pet issues and the senator has pressed for his home state of Oregon vote-by-mail system to be adopted
nationally.
Wyden is joined by Democratic Senators Kirsten Gillibrand, Ed Markey, Jeff Merkley, Patty Murray and Elizabeth Warren on the
CongressmanEarl Blumenauer plans to introduce a corresponding bill in the house.
&We know that Russia hacked into American voter systems to
influence our election & and we know they&ll try to do it again,& Sen
&Our national security experts have warned us that the country election infrastructure is vulnerable & this bill will take important steps
to help secure it.&
While the bill isn&t a bipartisan proposal — yet, anyway — these same measures are widely supported by election
security experts as well as the Department of Homeland Security and a Senate Intelligence Committee reportoffering recommendations for
securing the vote from earlier this year.
The full text of the bill is embedded below.
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