News

U.S. gov't weighs safety, reliability of e-voting for military

January 25, 2004

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Reliable Internet voting from overseas still could be workable, computer scientists agreed, despite a Pentagon project criticized as dangerously vulnerable to hackers and terrorists.

According to an article in the Boston Herald, a secure system would not be ready for this year's presidential election.

Under the Pentagon project, up to 100,000 people, most of them U.S. service personnel, will be eligible to vote abroad in November. They can vote from any cybercafe, as long as it has the right operating system and browser.

Many prominent computer experts believe the current system is irresponsible. They say rigorous precautions and security improvements, including properly trained poll workers and dedicated terminals at U.S. embassies or military bases, are needed to make Internet voting as fraud-resistant as the physical ballot box, the article said.

The U.S. military said it's willing to make significant changes to its system, known as SERVE (Secure Electronic Registration and Voting Experiment), including installation of computer kiosks at U.S. bases and the use of data encryption. But it won't implement change until after a detailed analysis of this year's election results.

A 10-member peer review board will interview SERVE participants after they vote, and report to Congress next year. If successful, SERVE could be adapted domestically to help boost turnout among other disenfranchised groups, ranging from the elderly to college students.