As a risk professional working in county government in the state of Kansas, I am on the frontlines of helping to secure the upcoming 2020 US election. The reality, though, is election security is a shared responsibility. We all have a role to play in protecting the integrity of the election and keeping misinformation from tainting the sanctity of our electoral process.
ISACA’s recent election security survey identifies misinformation/disinformation campaigns, tampering with tabulation of voting results, hacking or tampering with voter registration rolls and hacking or tampering with voting machines as the top threats to election security in a survey of more than 3,000 IT governance, risk, security and audit professionals in the US.
While misinformation is a real threat, election offices have increased awareness to the public to combat misinformation spreading among voters, especially concerns around mail-in ballots and what is being done to track them. In the state where I work, Kansas, for example, voters can log into a website and check their registration status to check when the ballot was mailed, received and accepted. If voters are concerned about their ballot not being counted, they can contact their election office to inquire about the status. Election offices also have provided alternate options, such as drop-off mailboxes in front of the election office, rather than sending by mail.
For in-person voting, extra steps have been added that not only take security into account, but also the safety of the election staff and the voters in this pandemic year. In the county where I work, the election office is implementing touchless voting in 2020 for the health and safety of voters and election workers: “Each voter will be provided with a single-use pen/stylus that can be used to sign the electronic poll book and mark a touchscreen or traditional paper ballot. Voters will handle and scan their own photo ID while checking in instead of handing their photo ID to an election worker. Voters are encouraged to limit the number of surfaces they touch while voting.” Additionally, personal protection equipment, physical distancing and appropriate signage will be utilized at all in-person voting locations.
During the pandemic, after many states announced they were expanding mail-in ballot options for elections, we saw many people share on social media that mail-in ballots needed two stamps and the US Postal Service would not mail them. We advise people to always check with their local offices for clarification on rules and the USPS. If a ballot enters the mail stream without the proper amount of postage, the Postal Service will collect postage from the appropriate board of elections. A bulletin on the USPS website confirms this information. Near the bottom of the page it says, “Short-paid and unpaid absentee balloting materials must never be returned to the voter for additional postage. Postage is collected from the election office upon delivery or at a later date. Do not delay delivery of balloting materials.”
Of course, there are other ways in which misinformation comes into play. In 2019, the Department of Homeland Security Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency launched a public awareness campaign to educate the electorate about ways foreign actors may try to interfere with democratic processes by sowing discord and pitting Americans against one another. The first product of this initiative was an infographic taking an innocuous example — whether pineapple belongs on pizza — and showing a potential strategy a foreign actor could use to spread divisiveness on the issue.
Whether misinformation is being spread by foreign actors or domestically by those with partisan agendas, it is critically important that voters check out multiple sources of information and not rely exclusively on their social media feeds for information about voting and the election. Ultimately, the truth is YOU, the voter, are most responsible for your vote by ensuring:
- You are registered to vote.
- You follow identity guidelines, such as voter ID and address verification
- You check your local election office for deadlines for registration, advance voting and voting day information, including hours and postmark dates for mail-in ballots.
