Swing State Broadens Online Voting to Enhance Ballot Access for American Indian Tribes
Nevada is set to expand electronic ballot access to American Indian tribes for the 2024 election, a move that is generating mixed reactions. This expansion, a first in the U.S., allows tribal members on reservations to request and return ballots online, aimed at making voting more accessible. While tribal leaders have praised this initiative for reducing barriers to voting, concerns have been raised by security experts about the risks associated with online voting. Experts like Larry Norden from the Brennan Center for Justice warn that while the current use of electronic ballots is limited, any expansion could pose significant security threats and undermine public confidence in electoral processes. Furthermore, historical issues with voting accessibility for tribal members are addressed through this change, providing a more flexible voting method beyond traditional mail-in or in-person voting. The FBI and the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency have also highlighted online ballot returns as a high-risk activity, prompting caution and scrutiny from various stakeholders.
The battleground state of Nevada will expand electronic ballot access for American Indian tribes in the 2024 election, sparking concern among some security experts.
Online voting is usually reserved for members of the military and overseas voters with some states allowing disabled citizens to vote electronically, but Nevada will become the first state to expand online voting to American Indian tribes, the Associated Press reported. The plan will likely be celebrated by tribal leaders who have called for “more accessible” voting, but some election experts voiced their concerns about expanding online voting.
“At this point in the United States, it’s a relatively small number of ballots that are coming through that way, but we should be very concerned — both from actual security risks but also from a public confidence point of view — about expanding this,” Larry Norden, an election expert with the Brennan Center for Justice, told the AP.
The Nevada electronic voting plan will allow American Indians who live on a reservation in the state to request a ballot online, and then return their filled-out ballot electronically.
“In past years, tribes didn’t have access to vote in multiple ways. You had to rely on the mail system to cast your vote or otherwise drive out to great lengths to vote,” said Cal Boone, the new tribal outreach coordinator for the Nevada Secretary of State’s Office. “What we are seeing in Nevada is really powerful, and it really sets the stage for what other states throughout the country can be doing to help support tribes.”
The FBI sent a memo to election officials in 2020 warning them about allowing ballots to be returned online, calling the practice “a high-risk activity.” That memo was redistributed by the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, which focuses on protecting America’s election systems.
Nevada Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar, a Democrat, said he understands that there are risks associated with online voting, but added that there will always be some risks in elections, according to the AP.
“I’m confident in our system,” Aguilar said.
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Nevada is considered a “toss-up” in the 2024 election with the majority of polls showing presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump leading President Joe Biden. Last month, the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee sued Nevada for a different election law that allows mail-in ballots to be counted up to four days after Election Day.
Election laws in other battleground states — such as Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin — have also been under a microscope after Trump challenged the results of the 2020 election, alleging the increase in mail-in ballots that were used during the COVID pandemic enabled voter fraud.
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