About F%$#ing Time

A bill has been submitted in the Senate to require paper ballots and routine audits.

Seriously, this is OpSec 101: If you are worried about people hacking your computers, use pencil and paper:

The Russians can't hack paper.

On Tuesday, nine Senators introduced a bill that would require state and local governments to use paper ballots in an effort to secure elections from hackers. The bill would also require rigorous audits for all federal elections to ensure that results match the votes.

………

The Protecting American Votes and Elections Act of 2018 was drafted amid intense scrutiny of voting systems ahead of the mid-term elections in November. Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election has elevated concern over the security of the country's voting systems.

The senators said rigorous audits will ensure votes are legitimate. Currently, 22 states don't require post-election audits, according to the release.

Using paper ballots will also save money, even when the costs of manpower to tally the votes is included, Wyden's office said. "We believe paper ballots would be significantly less expensive than purchasing new insecure voting machines," Wyden's office said in an email.

All the bills sponsors are Democrats, probably because there are fewer opportunities for politically connected donors to get a sweetheart deal for a simple print job.