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Does this chapter cover northern Cattaraugus county? If so, how can I help in my next of the woods to get out the vote?
Votingnewyork.org check it out for your ballot information and polling place. Tomorrow is Primary Day!
For information regarding your ballot check out votingnewyork.org
The chief vulnerability: internet exposure
Many parts of election systems are at risk of being exposed to the internet — and thereby potentially being inappropriately accessed or meddled with — because of human error or bad security protocols.
Here are some of the main points of risk:
Registration interfaces: When people enter their voter registration information online, any vulnerability on users' devices could expose the information they enter to potential bad actors. (Only their individual data should be at risk.)
Voter registration databases: Security measures like firewalls and physical network separation can protect these data troves, but no firewall is foolproof.
Electronic poll books: E-poll books are the electronic version of the books of voter records that poll workers refer to on Election Day at voting locations. In some instances, e-poll books can send live updates back to the county or state offices using active network connections. If the security on those networks fails, the information could be exposed.
Printed poll books: Some counties print their poll books using third-party printers, according to Maurice Turner, the senior technologist at the Center for Democracy & Technology. That could expose this part of the process to the internet if the third party has bad security protocols or other vulnerabilities.
Voting machines: At DefCon last year, hackers demonstrated that any voting machine with wireless connectivity or a USB port can be accessed in about 90 minutes, physically or over the internet.
In theory, it would be very difficult to exploit the vulnerabilities physically, because someone would likely notice this kind of tampering. (But it's not unusual for people to take their time in a voting booth, and election officials can't and shouldn't observe every single move that voters make.)
Electronic vote tabulation: This can require data from electronic ballots to be transferred to an Election Management System (EMS). Any of the methods used to do that — USB sticks, email, or other internet transfer — can expose the data to tampering if not properly secured.
Optical scan vote tabulation: Scanners often tabulate paper records of votes, like a standardized test. But in some cases, these scanners may be rented from third-party vendors, which means they might have been exposed to tampering or bad security there.
Election management systems: These systems, used in different locales to tabulate and store voting results, may be at risk of exposure to the internet as well, depending on the jurisdiction's security protocols.
Absence of paper trails: Most of these vulnerabilities are deepened by the lack of paper backups to electronic election systems. In five states there is no paper records of votes, and in nine others the paper record is spotty.
Risks from human error, confusion, and doubt
Any time a human being interacts with a device or a system, things can go wrong.
For example, if workers improperly mark that a voter appeared at a polling location, officials could end up with a discrepancy between the tally of total voters who showed up on Election Day and the tally of total number of votes cast.
Why it matters: Mistakes introduced through human error — as when people enter voter registration information incorrectly, or election officials input the wrong numbers by accident — aren't likely to affect an election outcome if they happen at a small scale. But they can add to the confusion in the context of other simultaneous efforts to undermine public trust in elections or to create chaos.
And if Russia or another adversary can still claim responsibility for any cascade of errors even if it had no part in them. This tactic — experts call it a "blended attack" — can cause just as much disruption to the elections and cast just as much doubt on their results as more direct interference could.
Remember: Most of what the Russians did with regard to election systems in 2016 was probe voter registration records — as far as we know, they didn't change registration records or vote tallies — and that still sparked a national debate.
Be smart
Any vulnerability can be exploited in ways that reduce public trust in elections, and if that's the goal of an adversary like, say, Russia, then the system's credibility could be weakened even if tampering hasn't promoted a particular winner or loser.
from AXIOS news 7/3/18
MESSAGE TO THE MASSES OF UNREGISTERED VOTERS
A PLEA FOR 2018
By Alberto O. Cappas, Founder/Co-Chair
Puerto Rican Committee for Community Justice (PRCCJ)
If your welfare check
Was cut while you were on Facebook
And you came to me for assistance
But you are not a registered voter
Don’t waste your time coming to me for advocacy.
Register!
If your food stamps were late
and your local grocery store
refuses to serve you
And you came to me for assistance
But you are not a register voter
Don’t waste your time coming to me for advocacy.
Register!
If you were abused by
The local police officers
And you came to me for assistance
But you are not a registered voter
Don’t waste your time coming to me for advocacy.
Register!
If you’re dissatisfied with
Your local community leaders
For not doing anything for you
And you came to me for assistance
But you are not a registered voter
Don’t waste your time coming to me for advocacy.
Register!
If your welfare check was cut
While you were preoccupied
Watching your soap operas
And you came to me for assistance
But you are not a registered voter
Don’t waste your time coming to me for advocacy.
Register!
If your landlord increased your rent
And you must move out because
You can’t afford the rent
And you came to me for assistance
But you are not a registered voter,
Don’t waste your time coming to me for advocacy.
Register!
If you get eviction papers to move out
From your apartment because
Gentrification is taking over the building
And you came to me for assistance
But you are not a registered voter
Don’t waste your time coming to me for advocacy.
Register!
If your bills get out of hand
And they send a bill collector after you
And you came to me for assistance
But you are not a registered voter
Don’t waste your time coming to me for advocacy.
Register!
If you were turned down for a job because
Your pants were below your waist line
And you came to me for assistance
But you are not a registered voter
Don’t waste your time coming to me for advocacy.
Register!
If you’re fired from your job for no reason at all
And you came to me for assistance
But you are not a registered voter
Don’t waste your time coming to me for advocacy.
Register!
If you’re Spanish dominant
And want to learn English but can’t get into the
Right program, always being rejected
And you came to me for assistance
But you are not a registered voter
Don’t waste your time coming to me for advocacy.
Register!
If your college tuition gets to high where you
Might have to drop out of college
And you came to me for assistance
But you are not a registered voter
Don’t waste your time coming to me for advocacy.
Register!
If the city gives you the run-away when
Applying for a permit or license
And you came to me for assistance
But you are not a registered voter
Don’t waste your time coming to me for advocacy.
Register!
If your electricity bill is too high
And they want to cut off the light
And you came to me for assistance
But you are not a registered voter
Don’t waste your time coming to me for advocacy.
Register!
If you are upset with President Donald Trump’s
Policies that will affect your public assistance
And you came to me for assistance
But you are not a registered voter
Don’t waste your time coming to me for advocacy.
Register!
If the government garnish your paycheck for
Back taxes that you know they’re wrong
And you came to me for assistance
But you are not a registered voter
Don’t waste your time coming to me for advocacy.
Register!
If you’re tired of the crime and drugs
And want to see improvement in your neighborhood
And you came to me for assistance
But you are not a registered voter
Don’t waste your time coming to me for advocacy.
Register!
We keep losing our village
We keep losing our families
We keep losing quality schools
We keep losing good leaders
We keep losing good education
We keep losing affordable housing
We keep losing good jobs
We keep losing business opportunities
We keep losing respect
We keep losing political power
We keep losing
We keep losing
Stop complaining
Stop crying
Plug in your registration form into the political electrical system
Introduce yourself to the board of elections
Let them know we are ready to make a CHANGE.
We are ready to build a Village.
_________________________________________________
This piece was inspired by Puerto Rican poet, Jesus Papoleto Melendez, author of “Hey Yo! Yo Soy!”, published in 2015.
Enjoyed a fabulous happy hour with League friends last night at Providence Social!
Join us for League of Women Voters Happy Hour
Appetizer specials ... $5
Drink specials ... $5
Informed, even-keeled discussion about issues and current events...very valuable
Come celebrate summer, friends old and new, and League issues at our monthly fourth-Thursday event. Everyone is welcome, so please feel free to bring a friend.
Thursday, August 24, 5:30 p.m.
Providence Social
490 Rhode Island Street
Buffalo, NY 14213
Free parking in the parking lot across the street
