# Why a Voting App Won't Solve Our Problems This November **URL:** \ **Category:** News & Articles\ **Tags:** tools, news\ **Created:** [May 15, 2020, 1:25pm UTC](https://onehack.st/t/why-a-voting-app-wont-solve-our-problems-this-november/86645 "2020-05-15T13:25:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 2\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Prometheus](https://onehack.st/user_avatar/onehack.st/prometheus/32/34950_2.png) [@Prometheus](https://onehack.st/u/Prometheus)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2020, 1:25pm UTC](https://onehack.st/t/why-a-voting-app-wont-solve-our-problems-this-november/86645/1 "2020-05-15T13:25:23Z")
![image](https://onehack.st/uploads/default/original/3X/0/8/088f4456264517d88faae2e5a85dcbf8fdc72575.png) [XXongo](https://slashdot.org/~XXongo) writes: _Although the problems with internet voting have been [pointed out](https://politics.slashdot.org/story/12/03/02/1940236/in-theory-and-practice-why-internet-based-voting-is-a-bad-idea) [over](https://it.slashdot.org/story/19/03/12/2050212/researchers-find-critical-backdoor-in-swiss-online-voting-system) and [over](https://tech.slashdot.org/story/09/03/25/1641228/cia-expert-decries-e-voting-security) again, with the arrival of COVID-19, the idea has again been brought up as a way to avoid the problems of in-person voting. If we can do banking by internet, [why can’t we do online voting](https://www.verifiedvoting.org/resources/internet-voting/vote-online/)? But, voting by an app is still a really stupid idea. If you want the government to belong to whichever hacking group can exploit a zero-day vulnerability first, this is it._ _And, [as Kaleigh Rogers of FiveThirtyEight points out](https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/why-a-voting-app-wont-solve-our-problems-this-november/), citing the co-founder of security consultancy firm Nordic Innovation Labs, “even if there was a completely secure system, there’s currently no way to have an online vote that is both anonymous and auditable. An anonymous vote [protects against voter coercion, suppression, or vote selling](https://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/secrecy-of-the-ballot-and-ballot-selfies.aspx). An auditable vote protects against any errors or breaches, because officials can conduct a recount. But that combination, which is possible with a paper ballot, isn’t yet possible online.”_ And, even if the privacy and security issues were solved, online voting vendors would likely not be able to handle this fall’s presidential election in time. “Nationwide would be a huge stretch,” said Nimit Sawhney, co-founder and CEO of Voatz, one of the most prominent voting apps on the market. “We are a tiny little startup. There are about 25 people on our team. For us to be able to claim that we can do elections for 200 million people on a smartphone? That would be naive.” What the security experts are recommending a country do amidst a pandemic is to **vote by mail**. “Planning needs to start now, to make sure ballots are printed off and mailed in time, and that voters know their options for casting a ballot,” writes Rogers. “In-person voting will still most likely take place as well. But experts told me if we want those well-spaced lines for the ballot boxes to be less than a few miles long, we’ll have to vastly ramp up mail-in voting by November.” ---
**Author:** ![ahmedayman4a](https://onehack.st/user_avatar/onehack.st/ahmedayman4a/32/37430_2.png) [@ahmedayman4a](https://onehack.st/u/ahmedayman4a)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2020, 1:32pm UTC](https://onehack.st/t/why-a-voting-app-wont-solve-our-problems-this-november/86645/2 "2020-05-15T13:32:33Z")
If you want to learn more on why online voting is a bad idea watch this Tom Scott video that explains why, in a simple manner. **Video Link : [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkH2r-sNjQs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkH2r-sNjQs)**