If we can’t create a secure online voting system why do we use it for passports, banking, medical records, drivers licenses, criminal and law record keeping.
This is just an attempt at control using the majority of cases that most websites and applications are insecure. If enough effort and time is invested of course we can create a fairly robust and secure voting system.
> If we can’t create a secure online voting system why do we use it for passports, banking, medical records, drivers licenses, criminal and law record keeping.
Hackers get into people's bank accounts, medical records, etc. all the time. We know that these systems are massively insecure. Also, none of those things are kept secret from everyone involved. Your bank gets to know how much you paid for something. Your doctor gets to know what your xray showed. The judge can see what court documents you filed. There are a lot of eyes on that data and trails to catch problems. Nobody is allowed to know how you vote. It's a very different problem than the online submission of bank transactions and court records.
There are also robust systems for correcting the record when something goes wrong. Sadly still not enough in place to protect the people whose data gets stolen or leaked, but that's another topic.
Errors in these other areas are typically reversible without undermining trust in electoral processes, leading to (in the worst case) wide scale violence and death.
We use the internet for too much, more systems should be airgapped. It’s a miracle that there hasn’t been a tragedy yet from a hack of critical infrastructure. Even things like water treatment and energy systems can be vulnerable: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/10/08/american-water-largest-us-wa...
As long as the chain of custody is maintained, a recount of a paper election is repeatable and can be verified with physical artifacts (ballots). Unlike a paper election, there is no tangible evidence that records have been maintained securely. Additionally, even if a box of ballots is stored insecurely or somehow goes missing, in most cases it isn’t a showstopper as the margin of votes is still comfortable enough to have a clear winner.
Except in very close elections, traditional paper elections are almost impossible to manipulate successfully if the custody and counting process includes representatives from opposing political parties. (Week long counting periods that accept a million delayed votes are another story, but that is a process issue and a deliberate decision to weaken electoral integrity.)
This is just an attempt at control using the majority of cases that most websites and applications are insecure. If enough effort and time is invested of course we can create a fairly robust and secure voting system.