How Vulnerable Are Electronic Voting Systems?
JUNE 2006
How Vulnerable Are Electronic Voting Systems?
As electronic voting systems debuted in Utah on June 27, researchers continue to explore their security. A report from the Brennan Center at NYU uses a hypothetical scenario to examine potential threats, while a Common Cause study explores the vulnerability of direct recording electronic (DRE) machines.
Featured Resources
After reviewing some specifics of voting processes in the United States and the provisions of the Help America Vote Act, this paper lays out a roadmap for future reseach on electronic voting, with particular emphasis on reliability and access.
On Election Day, one-third of the nation's voters will use new voting machines. A new report from Election Data Services describes the changes, highlights geographic patterns, and discusses what lessons past changes may have for this election.
To what extent should the software code for electronic voting machines be available to the public? Hall explores the tradeoffs between expediency and transparency and concludes that giving the code to qualified individuals is the optimal solution.
In this report, researchers from the Brennan Center and the Samuelson Clinic survey current literature on post-election audits and make recommendations for future audit policy.
Research Projects
Election Law @ Moritz, run through Moritz College of Law at the Ohio State University, contains both explanation and commentary on a wealth of election reform issues from a legal perspective.
This project aims to evaluate the current state of reliability and uniformity of U.S. voting systems; to establish uniform attributes and quantitative guidelines for performance and reliability of voting systems; and to propose specific uniform guidelines and requirements for reliable voting systems
Electionline.org provides daily news updates on election reform issues, as well as deeper analysis of selected topics, including recent reports on voter registration, recount procedures, and the progress in implementing the Help America Vote Act since 2002.
As part of its broader research focus on elections, campaign ethics, campaign finance, and the legislative process, the Center for American Politics and Citizenship at the University of Maryland is engaged in research projects on voting technology and ballot design specifically.
The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
www.aei.org
The Brookings Institution
www.brookings.edu
© Copyright 2006, AEI
and The Brookings Institution