Following the 2016 presidential elections, paranoia regarding foreign interference in American democracy has increased.
However, a new voting method which has caused people to raise a few eyebrows is set to be introduced in West Virginia during this year’s midterms. As expected, many election integrity and computer security experts are not excited about the idea and hope that it won’t open the door to even more hackers.
The decision came shortly after new reports by intelligence director Dan Coats confirmed that Russian agents are making efforts to directly interfere in the outcome of this year’s elections. West Virginia Secretary of State Mac Warner went against these warnings and supported the development of this app, which will require voters to submit a government-approved identification photo and a selfie-style video. The app’s facial recognition feature will match both sources of identification to hopefully improve security.
Despite this, the ballots will continue to be completely anonymous and will be collected in a public source of data. The app’s development company, Voatz, is joining a group of companies which are exploring mobile balloting. This will be the first time that mobile balloting will be used in a public election. Secretary Warner has demonstrated a great deal of support for the proposed measure, stating that the app will attract people who wouldn’t usually vote in midterm elections.
Voatz and its few supporters have stated that the app is secure. However, critics have claimed that the app will broaden opportunities for hacking.
Some believe that hacking attempts may be undetectable this year.
This November’s election cycle will not only be analyzed by politicians and security officials, but also by tech experts, as the app will test the effectiveness of this new system.
Featured Image via Wikimedia Commons
