CA Legislature Approves Dangerous Bill to End All Federal Testing of State E-Voting Systems

[UCmeNdc]

A new bill that would grant unprecedented and unchecked powers to the California Sec. of State --- including those that could allow him or her to approve new e-voting systems for use in actual elections with no testing at all --- was approved late last week by the state legislature along partisan lines. It is now on its way to Gov. Jerry Brown (D) for his signature or his veto.


he Governor should veto SB 360, a sweeping, dangerous, ill-conceived and dishonestly presented piece of legislation, passed with little debate in public or in either chamber of the state legislature.


Sponsored by 2014 Sec. of State candidate, measure grants unprecedented power to Sec. of State to approve new e-voting systems for use in real elections, even with no testing at all

http://www.bradblog.com/?p=10256

[Downwinder]

1. OTOH do we want NSA testing the machines?

[Downwinder]

2. Has Federal Testing made e-voting systems

any more honest, secure, or reliable?

[BradBlog]

3. Yes.

"More secure or reliable" than it would have been without it? Yes, absolutely.

As to "honest", without the ability for citizens to oversee their own results, any speculation about "honesty" is meaningless.

[Downwinder]

4. Has it been the Government that found security holes or institutions

of higher learning?

[BradBlog]

5. Both and neither

Most of the testing at the federal level has historically bee jobbed out to third parties (usually corporate, as opposed to academic institutions). But those processes have been overseen by government entities. More so now than previously.

ALL of those various levels have discovered security issues along the way. As I said in my initial coverage of the terrible SB 360, more testing is better than less testing. Getting rid if an entire layer if independent testing is madness, particularly given how many massive security issues have still managed to get through to systems actually used in live elections even WITH the two levels of testing and certification (at both federal and state levels) that currently exist for CA systems, but won't anymore as if Jan 1, 2014, if Jerry Brown signs this ill-considered piece of legislation.

[Downwinder]

6. i would be more inclined to trust Academic testing

than Corporate or Government. Let CAL Tech, USC, UCLA, Oxy, and Harvey Mudd certify the system, I would be satisfied.

They are talking about wireless hot spots at all of the polling stations here.