Presidential Commission on Election reform – good news & bad

In his State of the Union address, President Obama stated:

“But defending our freedom is not the job of our military alone. We must all do our part to make sure our God-given rights are protected here at home. That includes our most fundamental right as citizens: the right to vote. When any Americans – no matter where they live or what their party – are denied that right simply because they can’t wait for five, six, seven hours just to cast their ballot, we are betraying our ideals. That’s why, tonight, I’m announcing a non-partisan commission to improve the voting experience in America. And I’m asking two long-time experts in the field, who’ve recently served as the top attorneys for my campaign and for Governor Romney’s campaign, to lead it. We can fix this, and we will. The American people demand it. And so does our democracy.”

The White House announced that the commission will be led by Robert Bauer and Ben Ginsberg, attorneys for the Obama and Romney campaigns. According to the New York Times, the panel will include lawyers plus “election officials and customer service specialists — possibly from theme parks and other crowded places”.

I have no doubt that all of these are valuable areas where we need expertise in solving problems with long lines. But at the same time, it’s critical to recognize that any solution to solving problems will undoubtedly involve technology – and for that, there must be technologists on the panel. For example, if the panel determines that making it easier for people to register or check their address online is a good idea (which I expect will be one outcome), they need technical experts to help understand the security and privacy issues associated with such requirements.

My greatest fear is that the commission will blindly recommend internet voting as a cure-all. As readers of my postings on this blog know, internet voting has yet to show promise as a secure solution to voting, and it risks threatening everyone’s vote.

Here’s hoping that the yet-to-be-named members of the panel will include not just lawyers, election officials, and customer service specialists, but also a leading technical expert – and not someone from one of the other fields claiming technical expertise.