EPIC, USTPC Urge Election Commission to Protect Secret Ballot, Ban Internet-Connected Voting Machines

EPIC, along with the U.S. Technology Policy Committee of the Association for Computing Machinery, has filed comments to the Election Assistance Commission on the Voluntary Voting System Guidelines 2.0. EPIC and USTPC supported the inclusion of strong principles for voter privacy, ballot secrecy, and data protection. The groups also urged the Commission to ban internet-connected voting machinery, citing the risks to voting integrity and democratic institutions. "The VVSG 2.0 are vital to protect our democratic institutions. The EAC should ban the use of internet-connected voting machines and protect ballot secrecy," EPIC and USTPC said. Though states are not mandated to comply with the VVSG, the guidelines help shape the election security market. In 2016, EPIC published a report on the importance of the secret ballot for democratic decision making. EPIC has a long history of working to protect voter privacy and election integrity.