Nextgov

Cybersecurity

CISA Official Sidesteps Controversy over Trump’s Voting Fraud Claims

The official said the agency is focused on protecting the voting infrastructure, not the president’s claims about mail-in voting fraud.

By Mariam Baksh
June 2, 2020

Data

House Bills Seek to Stop Political Ad Microtargeting

A pair of bills seek to limit how political campaigns can use data to reach voters.

By Brandi Vincent
May 27, 2020

Policy

States Struggle to Get Vote-by-Mail Plans Ready in Time

Many states delayed their primaries to give election officials more time to prepare, but quickly overhauling procedures comes with real challenges. What will it all mean for the November elections?

By Andrea Noble
May 21, 2020

CIO Briefing

Ignoring Trump and Right-Wing Think Tanks, Red States Expand Vote by Mail

The Heritage Foundation and other conservative groups warn, with little evidence, that voting by mail fosters fraud. But some Republican secretaries of state reject those concerns and see no alternative to absentee voting if the pandemic persists.

By Jessica Huseman and Mike Spies, ProPublica
May 12, 2020

Policy

Will COVID-19 Disrupt Election Day 2020?

"We have held elections during the Civil War and during World War I despite extreme conditions, so there isn’t any precedent for this," a professor of political science said.

By Kristen Degroot, Futurity
May 4, 2020

Cybersecurity

West Virginia Scraps Voatz Mobile Voting App

The West Virginia Secretary of State’s Office announced it would use a different electronic absentee voting technology after researchers raised security concerns with the previous voting app it had used.

By Andrea Noble
March 3, 2020

Cybersecurity

CISA Officials See ‘No Malicious Activity’ During Super Tuesday

Subsequent information could change the analysis but the agency does not currently attribute technical hiccups in some states to interference.

By Mariam Baksh
March 3, 2020

Cybersecurity

Some Election-Related Websites Still Run on Vulnerable Software Older Than Many High Schoolers

Our analysis found that websites in dozens of towns and counties voting on Super Tuesday have security weaknesses. Richmond, Va., still uses software from 2003.

By Jack Gillum, ProPublica
March 2, 2020

Cybersecurity

White House Budget Gives Election Agency More Funding, But Expert Says It's Not Enough

"A budget should be doubling down on funding [election-related] institutions," the observer argued.

By Courtney Bublé
February 12, 2020

Cybersecurity

Senate Intel Report: Key Officials Excluded From 2016 Election Response

Committee leaders recommend an integrated response to cyber events and disregard for political affiliations moving forward.

By Mariam Baksh
February 6, 2020

Cybersecurity

Iowa’s Lesson: Political Parties Are Not as Good as Government Officials at Counting Votes

Most primaries are run by state and local governments. But caucuses are different—and Iowa shows how that can be a problem.

By Jessica Huseman, Jack Gillum and Derek Willis, ProPublica
February 5, 2020

Cybersecurity

Weakening Encryption Could Impact Election Security, Coalition Says

An election security group said the Justice Department’s renewed calls for access to encrypted data could impact more than privacy.

By Frank Konkel
January 22, 2020

Cybersecurity

FBI to Alert States About Local Election System Hacks

The FBI changed its policy to allow agents to inform both state and local election officials when election systems are breached.

By Andrea Noble
January 17, 2020

Ideas

Bots Are Destroying Political Discourse As We Know It

They’re mouthpieces for foreign actors, domestic political groups, even the candidates themselves. And soon you won’t be able to tell they’re bots.

By Bruce Schneier, The Atlantic
January 8, 2020

Cybersecurity

New Funding for Election Security Assistance Doesn’t Go Far Enough, Experts Say

Ahead of the 2020 presidential election, Congress appropriated $425 million for states to help secure election infrastructure.

By Courtney Bublé
December 31, 2019

Cybersecurity

Kansas Abandons Technology Trumpeted by Kris Kobach, Trump’s Onetime Voter Fraud Czar

The computer program, known as CrossCheck, matched various state voter rolls against each other to identify duplicate voters.

By Jessica Huseman, ProPublica
December 12, 2019

Ideas

It’s Time for Presidential Campaigns to Embrace Mobile Security

It's not just campaigns, voters could be targeted too.

By Bob Stevens
December 4, 2019

Cybersecurity

Local Election Officials Can Get Free Election Auditing Software from the Feds

The open-source software is already being piloted in at least six states and officials say it can help authenticate results in 2020.

By Andrea Noble
December 2, 2019

Cybersecurity

Senator Urges Cybersecurity Review of Mobile Voting App

West Virginia and local governments in Colorado, Utah and Oregon have all piloted mobile voting applications developed by Voatz.

By Andrea Noble
November 13, 2019

Cybersecurity

Election Commission Needs More Authority In Face of 2020 Threats, Report Finds

“The federal government regulates colored pencils . . . more strictly than it does America’s election infrastructure,” the nonpartisan Brennan Center notes.

By Courtney Bublé
November 12, 2019

The official said the agency is focused on protecting the voting infrastructure, not the president’s claims about mail-in voting fraud.

A pair of bills seek to limit how political campaigns can use data to reach voters.

Many states delayed their primaries to give election officials more time to prepare, but quickly overhauling procedures comes with real challenges. What will it all mean for the November elections?

The Heritage Foundation and other conservative groups warn, with little evidence, that voting by mail fosters fraud. But some Republican secretaries of state reject those concerns and see no alternative to absentee voting if the pandemic persists.

"We have held elections during the Civil War and during World War I despite extreme conditions, so there isn’t any precedent for this," a professor of political science said.

The West Virginia Secretary of State’s Office announced it would use a different electronic absentee voting technology after researchers raised security concerns with the previous voting app it had used.

Subsequent information could change the analysis but the agency does not currently attribute technical hiccups in some states to interference.

Our analysis found that websites in dozens of towns and counties voting on Super Tuesday have security weaknesses. Richmond, Va., still uses software from 2003.

"A budget should be doubling down on funding [election-related] institutions," the observer argued.

Committee leaders recommend an integrated response to cyber events and disregard for political affiliations moving forward.

Most primaries are run by state and local governments. But caucuses are different—and Iowa shows how that can be a problem.

An election security group said the Justice Department’s renewed calls for access to encrypted data could impact more than privacy.

The FBI changed its policy to allow agents to inform both state and local election officials when election systems are breached.

They’re mouthpieces for foreign actors, domestic political groups, even the candidates themselves. And soon you won’t be able to tell they’re bots.

Ahead of the 2020 presidential election, Congress appropriated $425 million for states to help secure election infrastructure.

The computer program, known as CrossCheck, matched various state voter rolls against each other to identify duplicate voters.

It's not just campaigns, voters could be targeted too.

The open-source software is already being piloted in at least six states and officials say it can help authenticate results in 2020.

West Virginia and local governments in Colorado, Utah and Oregon have all piloted mobile voting applications developed by Voatz.

“The federal government regulates colored pencils . . . more strictly than it does America’s election infrastructure,” the nonpartisan Brennan Center notes.

Thank you!