• Home
  • Independent Voter News
  • Quizzes
  • Election Dissection
  • Sections
  • Events
  • Directory
  • About Us
  • Glossary
  • Opinion
  • Campaign Finance
  • Redistricting
  • Civic Ed
  • Voting
  • Fact Check
  • News
  • Analysis
  • Subscriptions
  • Log in
Leveraging Our Differences
  • news & opinion
    • Big Picture
      • Civic Ed
      • Ethics
      • Leadership
      • Leveraging big ideas
      • Media
    • Business & Democracy
      • Corporate Responsibility
      • Impact Investment
      • Innovation & Incubation
      • Small Businesses
      • Stakeholder Capitalism
    • Elections
      • Campaign Finance
      • Independent Voter News
      • Redistricting
      • Voting
    • Government
      • Balance of Power
      • Budgeting
      • Congress
      • Judicial
      • Local
      • State
      • White House
    • Justice
      • Accountability
      • Anti-corruption
      • Budget equity
    • Columns
      • Beyond Right and Left
      • Civic Soul
      • Congress at a Crossroads
      • Cross-Partisan Visions
      • Democracy Pie
      • Our Freedom
  • Pop Culture
      • American Heroes
      • Ask Joe
      • Celebrity News
      • Comedy
      • Dance, Theatre & Film
      • Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging
      • Faithful & Mindful Living
      • Music, Poetry & Arts
      • Sports
      • Technology
      • Your Take
      • American Heroes
      • Ask Joe
      • Celebrity News
      • Comedy
      • Dance, Theatre & Film
      • Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging
      • Faithful & Mindful Living
      • Music, Poetry & Arts
      • Sports
      • Technology
      • Your Take
  • events
  • About
      • Mission
      • Advisory Board
      • Staff
      • Contact Us
Sign Up
  1. Home>
  2. Voting>
  3. online voting>

Some pros and cons of e-voting, including risks of ID theft

David Lukić
November 02, 2020
online voting
Abstract vector created by pch.vector - www.freepik.com
Lukić is an information privacy, security and compliance consultant at IDStrong, a credit and identity theft monitoring company.

With so much attention in the run-up to Election Day paid to potentially fatal delays for millions of mailed ballots, many Americans may be wondering if electronic voting could have been a better solution.

And there are plenty of ready answers to some of the most common questions surrounding e-voting — and plenty of ready guidance about what you still need to watch out for in the final hours of the campaign, to protect yourself and your right to vote if you intend to vote in person.

E-voting is the process by which a registered voter can submit a ballot using electronic means, instead of mailing in a piece of paper or going to a polling place. Generally, voters view their options on a computer screen and make their selections, much like taking an online survey. (They may be required to first insert some type of card into the voting system to verify their identity.) Then their votes are stored on a memory disc, in the cloud or through some other mechanism until they are tabulated.

Some more advanced systems permit voters to visit their country's election website, download and install an app for voting and then cast their ballots any time until the polls close on Election Day.

Sign up for The Fulcrum newsletter

The most compelling reasons for e-voting handily outnumber the main reasons against:

This system is more convenient than the current options. It's also more private. And it costs less to implement and maintain. It is a faster method for voting and for counting votes. It has the ability to motivate more voting activity. And it can readily allow a more inclusive process, by providing ballots for individuals in different languages and greater accessibility features.

On the other hand, the drawbacks include a lack of transparency regarding how systems work, the potential risk of compromise by hackers and a lack of consistency — since many different manufacturers are producing and marketing electronic voting systems.

E-voter fraud may be committed using many of the methods for cheating in traditional methods of voting, seven of which are succinctly outlined by the conservative Heritage Foundation think tank:

  • Impersonation fraud — when someone pretends to be you, or someone who's died or moved away, to vote in another person's name.
  • False registration — when someone uses a fake name or address to get on the voter rolls.
  • Bribery — when someone pays or promises to pay in exchange for a vote for a particular candidate.
  • Duplicate voting — when the same person votes multiple times in the same election.
  • Absentee ballot fraud, when someone requests a mail ballot on behalf of someone else and fills it out without their permission.
  • Ineligible voting, when a person who does not have the right to vote (by not being a citizen, for example) votes anyway.
  • Illegal assistance, such as forcing or intimidating voters at the polls.

There is an additional layer of concern regarding e-voting because it uses electronic systems to report votes. Such systems could potentially be hacked by outsiders to alter the count, fabricating tabulations after the voting ends. Additionally, if e-voters do not cast ballots in the contests where they're eligible (because of where they live) it may be easier to commit voter fraud since there would be insufficient oversight.

Beyond that is the risk of voter fraud through identity theft. One form of identity theft occurs when a scammer contacts registered voters, claiming to work for a local election board needing to "verify voter registration." The scammer may then ask the person to verify personal information, such as a Social Security number, which has nothing to do with voting at all.

Cybersecurity statistics show rates of identity theft have significantly increased during the coronavirus pandemic. Some experts estimate that as many as one in four people may wind up a victim of identity theft. With more transactions occurring online, it may be easier for identity thieves to steal your information and go undetected. Additionally, statistics also show that identity theft is a growing concern — and yet not many know about this issue.

There are several steps voters (regardless of how they will mechanically cast their ballots this fall) can take to minimize the possibility of being a victim of voter or identity fraud:

  • Do not give confidential information to a person who solicits you.
  • Only provide registration information on a form you complete that goes to the appropriate voting authority.
  • Make sure you use a secure network when casting your vote.
  • Vote as early as you can, even on Tuesday morning.
  • Use a monitoring service to detect potential fraud.

Following these steps can help you prevent voter fraud while also preserving your important constitutional right.

From Your Site Articles
  • The media needs to do better explaining differing political values ›
  • South Carolina's voter ID law under fire - The Fulcrum ›
  • Rhode Island Democrats seek to remove details about voters ... ›
  • Cyber, election experts to study concept of online voting - The Fulcrum ›
  • Election security experts warn against online voting systems - The Fulcrum ›
Related Articles Around the Web
  • Identity Theft ›
  • Identity Theft Resource Center: Home ›
  • Identity Theft and Your Social Security Number ›
  • Identity Theft | USAGov ›
online voting

Want to write
for The Fulcrum?

If you have something to say about ways to protect or repair our American democracy, we want to hear from you.

Submit
Get some Leverage Sign up for The Fulcrum Newsletter
Follow
Contributors

Risks and rewards in a polarized nation: Businesses face tough choices after Roe v. Wade ruling

Richard Davies

The economic blame game, part 1: Blame your opponents

David L. Nevins

How a college freshman led the effort to honor titans of democracy reform

Jeremy Garson

Our poisonous age of absolutism

Jay Paterno

Re-imagining Title IX: An opportunity to flex our civic muscles

Lisa Kay Solomon

'Independent state legislature theory' is unconstitutional

Daniel O. Jamison
latest News

Busy day ahead with primaries or runoffs in seven states

Richard Perrins
Reya Kumar
Kristin Shiuey
13h

The state of voting: June 27, 2022

Our Staff
13h

Video: Faces of democracy

Our Staff
18h

How the anti-abortion movement shaped campaign finance law and paved the way for Trump

Amanda Becker, The 19th
24 June

Podcast: Journalist and political junkie Ken Rudin

Our Staff
24 June

A study in contrasts: Low-turnout runoffs vs. Alaska’s top-four, all-mail primary

David Meyers
23 June
Videos

Video: Memorial Day 2022

Our Staff

Video: Helping loved ones divided by politics

Our Staff

Video: What happened in Virginia?

Our Staff

Video: Infrastructure past, present, and future

Our Staff

Video: Beyond the headlines SCOTUS 2021 - 2022

Our Staff

Video: Should we even have a debt limit

Our Staff
Podcasts

Podcast: Did economists move the Democrats to the right?

Our Staff
02 May

Podcast: The future of depolarization

Our Staff
11 February

Podcast: Sore losers are bad for democracy

Our Staff
20 January

Deconstructed Podcast from IVN

Our Staff
08 November 2021
Recommended
Illinois Republican gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey

Busy day ahead with primaries or runoffs in seven states

State of voting - election law changes

The state of voting: June 27, 2022

Voting
Dick’s Sporting Goods CEO Lauren Hobart

Risks and rewards in a polarized nation: Businesses face tough choices after Roe v. Wade ruling

Corporate Responsibility
Video: Faces of democracy

Video: Faces of democracy

Leadership
Federal Reserve Jerome Powell

The economic blame game, part 1: Blame your opponents

Leveraging big ideas
Bridge Alliance intern Sachi Bajaj speaks at the June 12 Civvy Awards.

How a college freshman led the effort to honor titans of democracy reform

Leadership