STEAL THIS ELECTION

This is unconscionable. And why, may I ask, isn't the media covering it? Oh yes, they're busy covering the pResident's latest speech, or press conference, or Harold Ford's social life.

The Department of Defense announced in September a new voting system by Internet for American military and civilian voters abroad. The system, which will be used in the midterm elections, has never been used before, not even in a primary, and was not tested publicly or subjected to peer review.

The primary security risks are as follows:

"1. Tool One exposes soldiers to risks of identity theft. Sending personally identifiable information via unencrypted email is considered poor practice. No bank would ask their customers to send SSNs over unencrypted email, yet Tool One does exactly that. This problem is exacerbated by potential phishing attacks.

2. Returning voted ballots by email or fax creates an opportunity for hackers, foreign governments, or other parties to tamper with those ballots while they are in transit. FVAP's system does not include any meaningful protection against the risk of ballot modification.

3. Ballots returned by email or fax may be handled by the DoD in some cases. Those overseas voters using the system sign a waiver of their right to a secret ballot. However, it is one thing for a voter's ballot to be sent directly to their local election official; it is another for a soldier's ballot to be sent to and handled by the DoD - who is, after all, the soldier's employer."

If the Rethugs can't win an election any other way, there's always their standard fallback -- steal it.

Tags: DOD voting system, stolen election, midterm elections