West Virginia's voting experiment stirs security fears

[DonViejo]

By CHRISTIAN VASQUEZ 10/13/2018 06:57 AM EDT

West Virginia is about to take a leap of faith in voting technology — but it could put people's ballots at risk.

Next month, it will become the first state to deploy a smartphone app in a general election, allowing hundreds of overseas residents and members of the military stationed abroad to cast their ballots remotely. And the app will rely on blockchain, the same buzzy technology that underpins Bitcoin, in yet another Election Day first.

“Especially for people who are serving the country, I think we should find ways to make it easier for them to vote without compromising on the security,” said Nimit Sawhney, co-founder of Voatz, the company that created the app of the same name that West Virginia is using. “Right now, they send their ballots by email and fax, and — whatever you may think of our security — that's totally not a secure way to send back a ballot.”

But cybersecurity and election integrity advocates say West Virginia is setting an example of all the things states shouldn’t do when it comes to securing their elections, an already fraught topic given fears that Russian operatives are trying again to tamper with U.S. democracy.

more
https://www.politico.com/story/2018/10/13/west-virginia-voting-app-security-846130

[manor321]

1. Blockchain itself is solid, but...

...it is a terrible idea to do this online with mobile apps. The whole system is only as secure as the weakest link.