Election Could Be Rigged - Ample Evidence Supports Claim

WASHINGTON - Oct. 18, 2016 - PRLog -- Putting aside the problems of specifying with precision exactly what Donald Trump is claiming - and the clear difference between saying the election "can" be rigged, and that the election "is being" rigged - some media are stating that any claim that the election "can" or "could be" rigged "is not true."

        But such reporting is itself misleading if not incorrect, since there is amble reason to believe that the election could be hacked, says public interest law professor John Banzhaf.

        Banzhaf was hacking in the late 1950s, and his computer technique for determining the chance that any small group of voters could change the outcome of a presidential election – now called "The Banzhaf Index" – has been widely adopted and utilized.  Many other responsible sources have now said the same thing.

        While it may be difficult for hackers to actually change the outcome of the election, it is at least possible - in the same sense that many responsible people now agree that computer experts might be able to hack into the nation's banking system, electricity distribution control system, air transit systems, etc., as they have with major governmental organizations and powerful corporations.

        Perhaps more importantly, a hack could easily cast significant doubt on the validity of the election even if the result wasn't in fact changed, says Banzhaf, especially if the losing nominee and/or his supporters voice suspicion concerning the outcome, and thus undermine the faith of many citizens in the entire election process.


        Banzhaf points out that if some election results appears suspicious, or only a few voting machines display clearly exaggerated results, or if the word "hacked" or a picture of Guy Fawkes appears on the screens of a few computers used to compile votes, disappointed voters could become very upset, and then even riot or worse to express what appears to be justified outrage.

        Here's just some of the evidence that rigging the election is possible.

    * According to NBC news and other media sources, the CIA is currently preparing to launch an unprecedented cyber war against Russia as retaliation for what has now been clearly identified as attempted Russian interference in the forthcoming U.S. presidential election.  This definitely includes the recent hacking of the election systems in Arizona and Illinois, and probably the release of emails damaging to Democrats for which Russia is also believed to be responsible.

    * Also, Homeland Security Secretary Jeb Johnson is considering designating election systems around the country as a "critical infrastructure" in need of federal assistance and protection, and has already established an Election Infrastructure Cybersecurity Working Group, as well as launching a Voting Infrastructure Cybersecurity Action Campaign.

    * Meanwhile, an anonymous Homeland Security Department official reportedly that the voter systems of more than 20 states - including the key state of Florida - have been targeted by hackers just in recent months.

    * The FBI's reported that the data bases of election boards in at least two states were successfully hacked, apparently by foreign governments, and in at least one case the hackers were able to insert malicious software into the system.  Moreover, their report showed that both infiltrations were done using common off-the-shelf software programs readily available to anyone who wants them from the Internet. In other words, hacking election machines can be done not only by hostile governments and master computer experts, but also by common garden-variety hackers.  Indeed, several professors have just demonstrated how easy it is, in one case in a demonstration which took only seven minutes.

    * According to an official from the Department of Homeland Security, 25 states have reached out for federal aid, and DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson said he hopes more will seek assistance.

    * A DHS official reportedly confirmed last week that hackers were detected trying to get into state voter registration systems in more than 20 states.

    * CNN reluctantly reports that "we've officially entered the era of the hackable [presidential] election." Mother Jones reports that "the concern that somebody might try to hack voting machines no longer seems outlandish."  Politico says a computer expert remarked that if some of the more susceptible voting machines hadn't yet been hacked, "it was only because no one tried."  Money magazine says we've officially entered the era of the hackable election.  Wired claims that the move toward electric voting machines turned out to be a "technological train wreck." ABC TV News featured a piece entitled "Yes, It's Possible to Hack the Election."

        Despite the lack of any support or substantiation for the claims Trump is making about a rigged election, there is more than ample reason to believe that many recent development now make it possible.

        These include the increased use of electronic voting machines (especially where they leave no paper trail), that more and more computers and data processing devices used in the election process are connected to the Internet, and that some states permit residents to cast their votes over the Internet.  Indeed, Tarrant County, Texas, is now investigating voter fraud through the use of mail-in ballots.

        Also, under our Electoral College system, any rigging or hacking which resulted in a change in even a very small number of votes, and perhaps even only a small number of votes in one individual state, could change the outcome of the presidential election, something very unlikely to occur were there to be a direct nationwide presidential election.

        Banzhaf reminds us of how the 2000 presidential election was decided by fewer than 1000 votes out of almost 6 million cast in Florida; so a hack of 600 votes could have resulted in a different president.

http://banzhaf.net/  jbanzhafATgmail.com  @profbanzhaf