Online Voting: Great in Theory, Needs Time

          I'm a fan of the internet. I think it can be used for great things. I also think that it has the potential to bring about a rise in the number of people that vote. Instead of dealing with poling centers, a person can just pull out their smartphone, enter their SS, Name, and Driver's license, and check a box to vote. It would be amazing if it existed. But it would also be a disaster.

          The reason being, we are not yet there with security implementations of the internet. Almost any website is hackable, and if the website is one that controls the outcome of America's elections, many groups, or even evil corporate businesses, could launch attacks and either destroy the results of the election, or worse, change who becomes president. And recent proof of voting-related sites being insecure have surface. An improperly maintained database on the website of the Iowa Republican party had voting records for two million Iowans leaked. The database was part of a feature on the site that allowed Iowa voters to check their registration and closest caucus site. Unfortunately, poor security practice made the database accessible through a basic scan of the website's source code. The website fixed the issue after being notified by the Journal and it's unclear whether anyone accessed or downloaded the database. Still, leaving it available represents a significant security breach for the site. While the records were only consisting of a person's name, contact information, and past elections they've voted in, and nothing like who a person voted for remains private, its just an example of many where websites and systems run by the government can, and will, be hacked. Especially if it involves the election of the president. We aren't ready for online voting.

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