Election security

Listen to the Intelligence Community’s Warnings Ahead of the Election

November 2, 2020 | Dan Lips

Voting is one the most important civic responsibilities in the United States. In 2020, being a responsible voter also involves understanding the rules of the election, the threat foreign interference, and reporting potential wrongdoing to the appropriate authorities if necessary. FBI Director Christopher Wray and Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe recently held a press

October 29, 2020 | Sean Roberts

What Should the Voter Do? Over the past month, I have been interviewing a cross section of election officials from around the country. These are election officials with a deep insight into the election system. Being so close to the election, Lincoln Network wanted to help American voters by presenting the perspective of the public

Avoiding the 1876 Scenario in November

October 8, 2020 | Garrett Johnson

By Garrett Johnson With five weeks to go, Americans from all walks of life and the different sides of the political spectrum should think ahead and prepare to do their part to help the country avoid an 1876 scenario. In 1876, the presidential election reopened the nation’s still healing wounds from the Civil War. The nation

October 8, 2020 | Sean Roberts

By Sean Roberts Viewers who watched the final moments of last week’s presidential debate got a glimpse of the potential crisis facing the United States in November. President Trump sharply criticized expanded voting-by-mail, warned that it will result in widespread fraud and mistakes, and committed to challenging results he deemed unfair. Former Vice President Joe

September 15, 2020 | Alexiaa Jordan

In a 2020 research paper “Secure And Accessible Elections: Absentee Voting Solutions For 2020 And Beyond”, Lincoln Network’s Sean Roberts and Alexiaa Jordan discuss the benefits and risks of expanded absentee voting, which is on track to increase in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the need for social distancing. One of the risks

August 31, 2020 | Dan Lips

13 States Have No Laws Addressing Who Can Deliver Absentee Ballots The November election is less than 100 days away. In most states, voters will soon be able to cast their ballots due to new rules allowing no-excuse absentee balloting. In a recent Lincoln Network working paper, Sean Roberts and Alexiaa Jordan discuss the tradeoffs

Solutions for Fighting Voting Fraud

August 7, 2020 | Sean Roberts

Election oversight is critical bulwark protecting the republic from election crimes Publicly elected officers wield power over decision making. The temptation to cheat, lie, and steal to get into public office is too great for some. Strong election oversight is a requirement for a society governed by the rule of law. We have many historical

July 6, 2020 | Dan Lips

States should expand absentee balloting but prevent ballot harvesting Forty-six states and the District of Columbia will allow all voters to cast their ballots by mail in November’s election. But a recent analysis from the Pew Research Center shows that most American have not voted by mail–increasing the risk that ballot harvesting will affect election

June 29, 2020 | Alexiaa Jordan

This Lincoln Policy Paper, co-authored by policy analyst Alexiaa Jordan and chief technologist Sean Roberts, provides a technical and policy analysis of absentee voting and vote by mail. Its purpose is to inform the current national debate with an accurate understanding of how vote by mail works and a fair analysis of the benefits and

June 25, 2020 | Dan Lips

In January 2017, former DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson designated election infrastructure to be critical infrastructure. At the time, he was focused on preventing cyber threats from disrupting the electoral process. But three years later, the most critical infrastructure for holding the 2020 election may be one of the nation’s oldest institutions: the U.S. Postal Service.

June 12, 2020 | Sean Roberts

Communication on the Vote by Mail Process is Required For The Public Trust Across the county vote by mail elections are being ramped up to protect people from having to make the choice of getting sick or doing their civic duty by voting. There has been a rush to accommodate the demand for vote by

May 28, 2020 | Sean Roberts

The United States is facing an unforeseen challenge in 2020: holding a presidential election during a pandemic. National leaders have been working to secure American election systems from foreign interference and potential cyberattacks since 2016. We now need to pivot to how we can administer an election when public health concerns require social distancing and

April 28, 2020 | Dan Lips

Harmonizing cybersecurity regulations imposed on state governments was a good idea before the pandemic. Now, it should be a top priority to help states address current challenges and defend the 2020 election. State governments are facing unprecedented challenges due to COVID-19 pandemic. While saving lives and addressing urgent public health needs remains the focus, state

April 6, 2020 | Dan Lips

Since 2016, national leaders have worked to prepare for the 2020 election—anticipating foreign adversaries again working to use cyber operations to influence and interfere with the democratic process. But no one predicted the challenges posed by the Coronavirus outbreak. Holding a presidential election during a pandemic could test the nation’s current capacity for self-government. Government

April 1, 2020 | Sean Roberts

A Vote by Mail election is a solution not without risks. Various US Congressional bills over the past couple of months have proposed permanently making Vote by Mail and other elections provisions the law of the land. While Vote by Mail could be a good solution for the social distancing issues brought on by the

March 31, 2020 | Dan Lips

This post was co-authored by Senior Internet Security Engineer, Sean Roberts. The coronavirus pandemic is testing our nation’s resolve and already disrupting our way of life. But we can’t afford to let it disrupt the November election. Six states have already postponed their primaries. More will likely follow in the weeks and months ahead. Read the rest

Lessons from California’s Primary

March 11, 2020 | Sean Roberts

The Shift to Voting Centers Caused Systemwide Challenges

February 28, 2020 | Dan Lips

Federal and state officials recently told a Senate Committee that state and local governments need additional cybersecurity resources. Their testimony follows the gatherings of the nation’s state secretaries of state and election directors earlier this year in Washington, where cybersecurity and election integrity were a top focus. Congress is now considering legislation to create a