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(Image Source: The Virtual Image)
BY LOGAN TITTLE
When Superstorm Sandy hit, concerns grew over how people would cast their vote in this year’s
elections. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie came up with a solution.
“In New Jersey residents were able to cast their votes early and governor Chris Christie
is allowing residents to vote today by email and by fax if they can't get to a polling
place.” (WTVT)
But apparently, it wasn’t as simple as Christie might have intended. Voters who submit ballots
via email or fax must ALSO mail in those ballots for their votes to count.
Politico reports county officials told some staff members they informed some voters not
to worry about mailing in their ballots. But a spokesperson for New Jersey’s first Lieutenant
Governor Kim Guadagno told the site—
“The instructions that every voter … casting an electronic ballot receives state that the
voter must immediately mail all ballot materials received … to the Board of Election … Requiring
the return of the physical and original version of an electronically cast ballot is an extra
level of security that has been, and continues to be, part of the electronic ballot instructions.”
While electronic voting has been available to U.S. service members, this would be the
first time civilians have been allowed to use the system and many are worried about
fraud.
CNN reports critics, some of which deal with cybersecurity, argue that voting online is
flat out unsafe. A professor of computer science at John Hopkins University told CNN,
“...online voting is a very unsafe idea and … something I think no technological
breakthrough I can foresee can ever change … People’s computer are not getting more
secure … They’re getting more infected with viruses. They’re getting more under
the control of malware.”
Senator Robert Menendez told MSNBC election officials have considered potential problems
with online voting, but feel having this as an option is better than not voting at all.
“He says he thinks its better to give people the opportunity to vote and then try and protect
the system and integrity of the system than disenfranchise people … They think there's
more value to let people vote as opposed to not letting them vote.”