Saturday, October 20th, 2018
Stephan: Every day in the U.S. VIsaNet, the credit card network, safely and securely processes 150 million transactions. Approximately 130 million people voted in 2016. How is it then that the United States can process credit card transactions safely and securely but can't manage to run an honest election?
Partly it is because in 1787 as the Constitutional Convention the states not trusting each other, and because the logistics in the 18th century were so onerous decided that each state would set up its own voting system. The Electoral College was set up because in the 18th century fear of mobs was a major political issue and so the Electoral College was supposed to be the last bulwark against mob rule.
In my opinion, both of these processes should be changed. Voting should be conducted under uniform federal standards assuring anyone over 18 who is a citizen can vote safely and securely, and the president should be elected on a popular vote, and the Electoral College eliminated.
That we can't run an honest election in this country is another example of what I mean when I say that Republicans do not like democracy because their masters don't like democracy, and are doing everything they can to maintain the form but strip away the substance.
Voting machine
Credit: Shutterstock
The voter information for approximately 35 million US citizens is being peddled on a popular hacking forum, two threat intelligence firms have discovered.
“To our knowledge this represents the first reference on the criminal underground of actors selling or distributing lists of 2018 voter registration data,” said researchers from Anomali Labs and Intel471, the two companies who spotted the forum ad.
The two companies said they’ve reviewed a sample of the database records and determined the data to be valid with a “high degree of confidence.”
Researchers say the data contains details such as full name, phone numbers, physical addresses, voting history, and other voting-related information. It is worth noting that some states consider this data public and offer it for download for free, but not all states have this policy.
The supposed data comes from 19 US states. The list and pricing, as advertised by the hacker himself, is as follows below:
- Montana – 1000$
- Louisiana – 5000$ (3 Million Voters)
- Iowa – 1100$
- Utah – 1100$
- Oregon – 500$
- South Carolina – 2500$
- Wisconsin – 12500$ (6 […]
I agree with you Stephan, that the voting system should be changed and a standardized system with no delegates should be adopted. The old paper ballots would be one way that might work better; computers are always hackable.
Unless I’m misunderstanding, voter registration data is readily and cheaply available from most states- I know the major political parties buy and use it to plan and execute their Get Out The Vote (GOTV) efforts. When I’m canvassing in Oregon, I tell potential voters that as soon as their ballot is received and registered (not counted) the party will know and people like me will stop bugging them.