Republicans Are Voting Via iPads In Florida Primary

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The iPad voting system from Everyone Counts.
The iPad voting system from Everyone Counts.

 

Some voters in Florida’s Republican primary elections will be choosing the man they want in the White House with the touch of a finger using iPads.

Although Lori Steele, Chairman & CEO of Everyone Counts, the company behind the iPad voting scheme, was tight-lipped on details about how many of Apple’s magical tablets will be ticking boxes in today’s elections, she was quick to say that a similar program in Oregon led to an increase of voter participation by 1,500%.

One thing she’s certain of though: the iPads will ensure there’s no hanging chads or lost votes.

Cult of Mac asked her about the cost, security and software behind it. We’re planning to follow up on how the battle between Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich played out over touchscreens.

CoM: What can you tell us about how it works?

Lori Steele: Our eLect Platform… enables a complete end-to-end election to be run online or for key elements in the election process to be conducted online, including ballot-delivery, ballot-marking and ballot return.

Whether an individual is voting using a computer, laptop, tablet, smartphone or even a regular telephone, the eLect Platform secures the voting solution.

CoM: What does it cost to local government?

[It] will cut the cost of elections in half. Importantly, it enables government jurisdictions to move away from antiquated voting hardware equipment to newer and lower cost devices such as iPads, tablets and PCs. Additionally, such devices are available commercially-off-the-shelf and can be used for other purposes instead of the government having to pay for them to be stored away between elections. Because the Everyone Counts solutions are based on software-as-a-service, they are easily scalable to meet the precise volume needs of each election, rather than a one size fits all approach.

CoM: How is this safer/more secure than other computerized voting systems?

LS: In short, we have dozens of layers of security in our technology as well as our processes, including military-grade encryption technology and intensive oversight procedures. In the hundreds of binding government elections Everyone Counts has deployed, there has never been a security breach, not a single vote has been lost, and no election has ever been disputed or decertified. Also, our Software-as-a-Service technology and solution does not rely upon designated voting equipment and machines, and in fact runs on open-code programs which are fully transparent and auditable.

CoM: More details, please.

LS: In depth, our proven solution is secured by an impenetrable infrastructure (hardware, networks, and software) and protects the actual data (elector registration information, ballots cast, and results) from both intentional and unintentional interference.

Everyone Counts understands security as being about layer upon layer of protection, cumulatively increasing the safety of the election project, and accomplishes this by using military-grade security and industry-standard accredited facilities; ensuring that only security-cleared individuals have access to the infrastructure; deploying software that requires multiple levels of access to be able to see any encrypted data; and having a world-class team of election and technology experts providing election services.

We adhere to the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST) guidelines for encryption, threat modeling, physical server security and tamper-detection monitoring.

These measures enable us to identify suspicious activity and anticipate any potential threats. As an experienced provider of secure voting solutions, we have a demonstrated understanding of software, data security and management, accessibility, and elections management. In the dozens of binding government elections Everyone Counts has deployed, there has never been a security breach, not a single vote has been lost, and no election has ever been disputed or decertified.

 

 

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