Theyre not auditable, says rebecca mercuri, a software consultant in mercer county, nj, whose phd dissertation at the university of pennsylvania was on. By rebecca mercuri page 1 of 2 pages view how many people read this 24 comments. Roy saltman consultant on election policy and technology dr. Computers are good for many things, but at the same time we need to be cautious. Jan 05, 2017 some problems with the fec standard included the lack of a requirement that vote tallies be independently auditable, the allowance of tradesecret code that may not be able to be inspected should an election contest question the proper functionality of a voting system, the use of commercial software products in balloting and tabulation systems. Such firmware reprogrammability represents a major security and auditability risk. Rebecca mercuri radcliffe institute harvard university. Apr 23, 2008 rebecca mercuri, phd, president of notable software, inc. The criteria provides for assessment of system dependencies, but does not account for counterindications.
New york state board of elections and concerned ny. Major new investigation of electronic voting machines the coalition of voting integrity, along with dr. Dan lopresti,will announce the recent purchase and study. Votingmachine makers would not be forced to follow them.
Standardize voting, experts tell congress notable software. We were told by the court that you were not able to get that algorithm to check it. Jul 30, 2003 the theft of your vote is just a chip away. Americas voting fraud worst machines hanging chad vote fraud. Apr 15, 2011 by rebecca mercuri phd in the aftermath of the controversial 2000 presidential election, the help america vote act was enacted, which among other initiatives provided funds for the procurement of new voting systems. Rebecca mercuri s statement on electronic voting, by rebecca mercuri. The software development process can benefit from the use of established standards and procedures to assess compliance with specified objectives, and reduce the risk of undesired behaviors.
Rebecca mercuri commented on how the fl 2002 primary election went with all the money, new technologies, and promises issued. Many states rushed out to buy electronic voting equipment that afforded no way to perform an independent recount from ballots that. Mercuri is wellknown for having provided testimony in the bush v. Electronic vote tabulation checks and balances by rebecca t. Were concerned, said rebecca mercuri, formerly a professor of computer science at bryn mawr and now the president of notable software, a consulting firm. Electronic voting may be risky, but what about vote counting. She also speaks frequently on digital audio topics. Do voter verified paper audit trails disenfranchise disabled. A technology specialist, rebecca defended her doctoral. Its nothing new, says rebecca mercuri, a security consultant who studied voting systems for her 1999 doctoral dissertation. Internet voting, open source software, encryption, access controls, trust, data, and secure channels. The case was notable for featuring as evidence images of internetfamous camgirl lolichan.
The palm beach county machines were running new software too, since the firmware on each of their 3400 machines was reprogrammed just weeks before the fall primary. Mar 02, 2004 one such solution, soon to be mandated in several states, is a voterverified paper trail. Currently she is authoring a book on digital forensic investigations from the standpoint of criminal defense. Apr 28, 2004 but according to harvard research fellow rebecca mercuri, a computer scientist who has worked elections for two decades, the certification tests look for logic errors and votecounting mistakes. Rebecca mercuri 37 invented the mercuri method for. Inside risks 9, cacm 45, 1, january 2002 uncommon criteria rebecca mercuri.
Are there sufficient procedures in place to guard against. But some experts worry that despite rigorous testing, the machines may not be as. Rebecca mercuri, phd, president of notable software, inc. We report on issues like prosecutorial misconduct, sheriff and district attorney misconduct, misconduct in.
In 1981, rebecca mercuri founded notable software a company that has evolved along with the everchanging computer industry. Optical scanning systems grew in popularity during the past decade, particularly in smaller counties. To reconnect the wires into their harness requires opening up the terminal a procedure that is not allowed during an election. On the other hand, recent experience suggests that relying on computer software can be problematical, from the recent breakin at microsoft, to the rash of global email viruses, and even the hacking of candidates websites. Comments on draft of subtitle v, part 6209, vss ny state i was asked to provide input on the subtitle v, part 6209, voting systems standards document currently being compiled by the new york state board of elections. The organization for security and cooperation in europe. Rebecca mercuri is a research fellow at the university of pennsylvania, where she is completing her dissertation on computational acoustics in the computer and information science department. Americas love affair with paperless voting is over. Rebecca mercuri is an energetic person who can be counted upon to carry through on any commitment she makes in a variety of fields, from computer music to computer security to computer forensics. They were then able to disconnect these wires without causing any damage. Rebecca mercuri authors the featured security watch column for the communications of the association for computing machinery. Once heralded as the solution to most election woes, our affinity for the paperless voting technology has dimmed. Find contact and company information for business people in our free business information database.
Rebecca mercuris 8 statement on electronic voting highlights some of these concerns. Rebecca mercuri is the owner of notable software, inc. Rebecca mercuri 37 invented the mercuri method for electronic. Sequoia edge a model of electronic voting machine can be reprogrammed through a port on the voting machine kiosk. Many voters, including candidates, experienced delays from the new touchscreen machines not working. Experts weigh cyber threats to critical infrastructure. Our founder, rebecca mercuri, is one of the worlds leading computer security. Stephen ansolabehere professor of political science, massachusetts institute of technology. One such solution, soon to be mandated in several states, is a voterverified paper trail. She expresses concern about the fact that there is no standard electronic ballot format. Jul 07, 2016 electronic voting may be risky, but what about vote counting. How they could steal the election this time the nation.
Kennedy school of government at harvard, proposed a. Nj examination hearing of sequoia wineds software 3. Voting online might enable citizens to vote even if they are unable to get to the. As this website is rather long, ive highlighted certain must read papers and articles using red asterisks. After highlighting proposed congressional legislation to give consumers more control and protection of. Her main fields of emphasis are interactive multimedia and computer forensics. She frequently testifies as an expert witness on computer security and voting systems. Touch voting a worry hazards haunt new hightech machines. Court of appeals in the proceedings following the 2000 united states presidential election, and was mentioned in a brief presented to the supreme court for the bush v. Optical scanning systems grew in popularity during the past decade, particularly in.
The role of standards page 9 prev page top of doc tuesday, may 22, 2001 witness list dr. Rebecca mercuri, one of the worlds leading computer security and voting specialists, joins us to discuss voting machine security for the state of connecticut. In 1981, mercuri founded the computer security and forensics consulting company notable software, where she continues to work. In 2000, mercuri provided expert testimony to the u. Rebecca mercuri is a computer scientist specializing in computer security and computer. Evoting is not secure now and will never be in the foreseeable future, says guest blogger and security specialist rebecca mercuri. For a good overview of the subject, search for these first and read the text at their adjacent links. Few people the security expert rebecca mercuri being the notable exception thought much about the mechanics.
The founder of notable software, a consulting firm specializing in computer security issues, shes spending her year at radcliffe researching methods of counterbalancing transparency and trust in. Apparently the president obama has decided that doing so would only encourage certain other nations to do the same. He explained that the state election codes were written in. Hawaiis instant runoff voting legislation veto needed. Not only do we need to look at voting methods, we also need to look at the voting laws. Rebecca mercuri, a computer scientist and founder of the consulting firm notable software, inc. Notable software is a consulting firm specializing in computer forensics, security and expert witness testimony. In midseptember, a few days after yet another problemridden election in florida, rebecca mercuri got a phone call from janet reno.
Computers are not really very good at doing anonymous things that are also accurately audited. The software on these devices didnt have to undergo testing and. The case was notable for featuring as evidence images of internetfamous camgirl loli chan. Rebecca mercuri imagined the mercury technique for electronic democratic 5. Rebecca mercuri, the president of the consulting firm notable software and an authority on electronic voting tabulation, said.
Not only does this testing lack rigour, but it only marginally complies with florida election law. Officials need to be able to recount ballots, trace problems, and eliminate errors. Sep 29, 2003 another case of electronic votetampering. Trust, transparency, democracy mercuri supports her strong views on electronic voting with solid and impressive credentials in computing. But some experts worry that despite rigorous testing, the machines may not. Michael alvarez, codirector of the voting technology project and professor of political science at the california institute of. Vvpbs do not at all discriminate against visually impaired, physically challenged, and foreignlanguage voters. Rebecca mercuri the owner and cto of notable software. Mercuri is a member of the computer science faculty at bryn mawr college, and is president of notable software, inc. Notable software is a consulting firm specializing in computer forensics, security. A critical component of this method is very similar to the caltechmit proposal. If someone recorded down the voters in the sequence in which they went in, that would reveal how they voted. Therefore, a computer ballot can be made to cause more confusion. The principal proposed security safeguard for the dre system was invented, but not patented, ten years ago by computer scientist rebecca mercuri, now a research fellow at harvard.
May 2006 communications of the acm, volume 49, issue 5. Rebecca mercuri, a computer scientist and a research fellow at harvard who has long questioned the security in electronic voting systems, says that. Mercuri has been actively involved with the assessment of voting systems since 1989. New york state board of elections and concerned ny citizens from. Do voter verified paper audit trails disenfranchise.
Among others, peter neumann, principal scientist at sri internationals computer science laboratory and a leading expert on the risks associated with high technology, and rebecca mercuri, a. Rebecca mercuri whos who in rca videodisc ced magic. Computer forensics expert and security consultant at notable software, inc. In the context of todays voting systems, voter authenticity are typically handled procedurally, initially by presentation of a birth certificate or other means of supposed identification. Rebecca mercuri is the founding president of notable software, inc. Accessible voterverified paper audit trails, sometimes called the mercuri method after researcher and evoting expert rebecca mercuri, who first mapped the system. Links within the html versions may not necessarily currently reflect the same material. She has conducted research related to electronic voting issues since 1989 and is recognized internationally as one of the leading experts on this subject. Apr 26, 2004 in 2001 congressional testimony, rebecca mercuri, a computer voting expert now at harvard, warned that electronic balloting systems are at the mercy of the people who build, program and maintain.
Articles will be linked here in html containing interactive links and pdf best for printing formats as they appear. A technology specialist, rebecca defended her doctoral dissertation electronic vote tabulation. The problem with the ovc model, says rebecca mercuri, owner of computer security firm notable software, in philadelphia, is that while ovc may be more secure than todays proprietary systems, it. Woodbridge felt that such testing would be unfair to sequoia if it were not also applied to the other applicant systems. She is a founding board member of the acm princeton chapter. If a machines not functioning, then it might not be able to shut itself down, dr. One of the experts, rebecca mercuri founder and ceo of notable software, inc. Mercuri explains that election software belongs to the class of. Rebecca mercuri, president of notable software inc. Standardize voting, experts tell congress by mike martin, upi science correspondent washington, may 22 upi in testimony before the house science committee today, a panel of scientific experts called for standardization of the nations confusing array of voting procedures and technologies. The recent california internet voting task force report is also examined with regard to its security shortcomings. Rebecca mercuri offers her suggestions for improvements in the way accuvote os voting machines are used in terms of security protocols, automatic hand recounts, and vendors.
Computer science, 79, credits her penn state education as a sturdy foundation that has been built upon during her career. As a result, the elections were extended by 2 hrs, but some polling places did not receive the news, and closed early. Tuesdays florida primary election marked its first largescale rollout of tens of thousands of brandnew voting machines that were promised to resolve the problems of the 2000 presidential election. If the major software manufacturer in the world cannot not protect its own company and products from an internet attack, one must understand that voting systems created by this firm or others will be no better and probably will be.
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