2020 Election Cycle Approaching: Foreign Threats Loom Roadblocks Needed Now

Our Most-Sacred Right: Voting for Government We Want

(Without any undue interference)

Attack on American democracy: #1 approach is foreign interference (e.g., Russia, et al) comprehensive report from the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU (best source around).

When the history of the 2016 election is written, one of the leading narratives is likely to be how foreign powers tried to influence its outcome.

This foreign interference in the presidential election exposed cracks in the security of America’s electoral system, the most fundamental part of our democracy. 

News reports revealed that hackers working on behalf of the Russian government targeted state and local voter registration databases and managed to access elections systems in as many as 39 states.

The attack shows that our current election systems are susceptible to foreign interference, and will only become more vulnerable as hacking methods are refined.

The 2016 election revealed another new threat: foreign interference through secret, targeted and misleading advertisements on social media platforms. 

Russia's use of social media in an effort to influence the 2016 election raises questions on what happens to American democracy when we don’t know who is behind political ads.

Our campaign finance rules are long overdue for an upgrade to the social media era. 

Today, 52 percent of the adult U.S. population visits Facebook every day. And the $1.4 billion spent on political ads online in 2016 was almost eight times higher than in 2012. 

Fortunately, there are concrete ways to bolster the security of our systems, and protect the integrity of our elections.

While localities have already taken steps to tackle such problems, national solutions are needed to ensure the integrity of upcoming elections in 2018, 2020, and beyond.

Below are five clear-cut steps that all levels of government can take to protect our elections. Here is list of those five and precautions (details on each at the Brennan Center link):

1.    Voting Machines: Understanding the Threat and Vulnerabilities

2.    Updating Election Infrastructure

3.    The Need for Auditable Voting Systems and Audits

4.    Bringing Campaign Finance Law to the Internet Age

5.    A Problem Congress Can Help Fix: (Note for example: As we learn more about how online Ads were used to impact the 2016 election, the bipartisan “Honest Ads Act” will become even more pressing for Congress to pass and protect our upcoming elections).

My 2 cents: Stay tuned to see what Congress and the states do to protect our voting rights – the heart of our democracy.

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