Hackers from the annual DEF Con conference, “Voting Village,” found glaring securities issues with voting machines used in U.S. elections. Still, despite the findings, nothing will be fixed for the Nov. 5 election.
Scott Algeier, executive director of the Information Technology-Information Sharing and Analysis Center, and others spoke to Politico after the event about the “multiple pages” of vulnerabilities the hackers found when they attempted to break into and why these issues won’t be fixed before the next election.
✋😔🤚 “Wow … Really…? Wow… no, I didn’t know that… you’re … you’re telling me that for the first time.” pic.twitter.com/gnzfdywYC8
— joshua steinman (🇺🇸,🇺🇸) (@JoshuaSteinman) August 13, 2024
That process involves getting the voting machine manufacturers to agree to make the changes, which is an uphill battle. Then, if the companies agree with the updates, each state’s election agency has to agree with the new system, which means fighting the bureaucratic system designed to make this challenging to do quickly. But even if both hurdles are accomplished in record time, every machine needs to be manually updated. (ROOKE: Kamala’s Record Rears Its Ugly Head After She’s Caught Stealing From Trump)
“Even if you find a vulnerability next week in a piece of modern equipment that’s deployed in the field, there’s a challenge in getting the patch and getting the fix out to the state and local elections officials and onto the equipment before the November election,” Algeier said. “It’s not a 90-day fix. It’s not a Microsoft every Tuesday; issue your patch, and everything works fine. It’s a pretty complicated process.”
NORTHUMBERLAND, NEW HAMPSHIRE – JANUARY 23: A voter enters the voting booth to fill out their ballot at a polling location on January 23, 2024 in Northumberland, New Hampshire. With Florida Governor Ron DeSantis dropping out of the race two days earlier, Republican presidential candidates former President Donald Trump and former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley are battling it out in this first-in-the-nation primary. (Photo by Scott Eisen/Getty Images)
The system is flawed, and the event organizers have been “frustrated” about the lack of changes. Voting Village co-founder Harri Hursti told the outlet despite hackers finding “multiple pages” of integrity issues this year and in years past with the voting machines, he’s “angry” that nothing has been done about them.
What?!? Voter Fraud in Pennsylvania?!?
How could this be? I’ve been reliably told this is nothing more than a right wing conspiracy theory. pic.twitter.com/2tBq4whatN
— Meg Brock (@MegEBrock) August 13, 2024
“There’s so much basic stuff that should be happening and is not happening, so yes, I’m worried about things not being fixed, but they haven’t been fixed for a long time, and I’m also angry about it,” Hursti said. (ROOKE: Vance Proved Why He’s Trump’s Greatest Wingman)
Americans have been worried about election integrity leading up to the 2024 presidential race, so much so that the Republican National Committee has created a unit devoted to combating any shenanigans that could arise. However, it’s hard to take elections seriously in a country that relies on easily hacked machines. The organizers will not specify what issues they found until the report comes out next month. With this in mind, how should Americans feel secure in their voting system?
“The fix is in”
Actually lots of people are working hard to prevent fraud in the election, it’s become a major focus of the RNC.
I don’t know why people are so set on convincing themselves it’s hopeless. It’s not! We’ll win if we show up. https://t.co/A7n7W4nOqX pic.twitter.com/3qPD9uGoEg
— Mystery Grove Movie List Co. (@MysteryGrove) August 13, 2024
The Politico piece essentially admits that voters have no recourse. It’s also meant to demoralize. If these machines have clear vulnerabilities, and nothing can be done to fix them before the most consequential election in U.S. history, you might as well save energy and stay home. But that couldn’t be farther from what needs to happen.
A voter prepares to cast a ballot on an electronic voting machine inside a vote center on Election Day during the Nevada 2024 presidential primary election in Las Vegas, Nevada, on February 6, 2024. (Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP) (Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images)
We must overwhelm the system designed against this purpose and force it to collapse under the weight of our voices. (ROOKE: Dems Running Voting Scheme Founded By Kamala Staffer In Swing State)
Gov. Glenn Youngkin mandates all paper ballots for presidential elections in Virginia:
“I think American elections should be decided by American citizens, and Virginia elections should be decided by Virginians.”pic.twitter.com/ShQrhRmoGz
— The American Conservative (@amconmag) August 8, 2024
Voting is the only option for Americans who do not want the American dream to die.