Precinct Voting Denial of Service
Name
vtp_wp39.pdf
Size
94.83 KB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
1e974dd97a1d9d37dc11a9ac5f5eef25
Author(s)
Alvarez, R. Michael
Date Issued
October 5, 2005
Publisher
Caltech/MIT Voting Technology Project
Series/Report no.
VTP Working Paper Series;39
Abstract
This is a type of threat that has a long history in electoral politics, and can take many forms. The basic approach is that a perpetrator attacks precinct voting, regardless of voting system, on election day in an effort to disrupt the process sufficiently to produce an effective "denial of service" attack. The perpetrator, based on an analysis of past elections returns, would target selected precincts that are highly likely to cast votes in a certain direction. For example, if the perpetrator wished to sway the election for party X, he or she would target precincts that have very heavy concentrations of party Y supporters. In a close election, especially in lower-level races, such an attack could either sway the outcome of an election to party X or could throw considerable doubt and distrust into the announced election outcome.
Subjects
Voting systems threats
Voting attacks
Persistent DSpace Link
