Experts worry US elections even more vulnerable with COVID-19
Paul Rosenzweig, a resident senior fellow for national security and cybersecurity at nonprofit group the R Street Institute, told The Hill he also was concerned the pandemic could increase disinformation efforts.
“I have absolutely no reason to think that the virus will in any way stop Russia from its activities, or China or Iran for that matter, in fact to the contrary it seems to have given them yet another way of pressing on the polarized splits in America’s body politic,” Rosenzweig said.
If there are fewer people staffing polling spots because of health concerns and social distancing, or if more voters cast votes by mail, it will also create security concerns, Hovland and Rosenzweig said.
Rosenzweig said machines used to count mailed-in paper ballots could become a problem.
“I think most people don’t realize that to count vote-by-mail ballots, most states are likely going to use machines,” Rosenzweig said. “The machine security is going to be the same, with the added problem that there will be a lot fewer observers, so tactical level fraud will be possible when there are only two guys working a machine.”
