Oct 15, 2018 By The Rutland Herald 3 min read

A poll released Wednesday suggests a strong majority of Americans do not trust the nation’s voting systems.

With the midterm elections days away, Americans worry we still are vulnerable to hackers, according to the poll from The University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

The data suggest Democrats have grown increasingly concerned about election security while Republicans have grown more confident.

According to the AP report, by 58 percent to 39 percent, Democrats are more likely than Republicans to say they are very concerned about hackers affecting U.S. election systems. That represents a flip from the results of a similar survey taken in 2016.

The same partisan divide exists in the confidence Americans hold in the accuracy of vote tallies for the upcoming midterm elections. Republicans are more confident — a reversal.

Nearly 80 percent of Americans say they are at least somewhat concerned about the hacking of voter registration systems, voting equipment and final election results, with at least 4 in 10 saying they are extremely or very concerned about each.

Also on Wednesday, leading experts in the field of election security released a report outlining the serious and unaddressed threat to the integrity of the nation’s elections and democracy posed by the continued use of online voting in 32 states.

The report highlights that at the very least, nearly 100,000 ballots were reported to have been cast online in the 2016 general election. The report emphasizes that online voting must be discontinued completely by 2020.

Despite repeated warnings from leaders of the U.S. intelligence apparatus of ongoing attacks on our nation’s election system by foreign nations, voters are already casting ballots online in the 2018 election.

This year, the nation’s intelligence agencies warned that Russia and others remain interested in interfering in U.S. elections, but have emphasized that they have detected no targeting of election systems on the level seen ahead of the 2016 vote.

The result: Nearly 8 in 10 Americans are at least somewhat concerned about potential hacking, with 45 percent saying they are extremely or very concerned and 22 percent have little or no confidence that votes will be counted accurately.

Federal, state and local election officials have scrambled over the past two years to shore up cybersecurity defenses of election systems, improve communications about potential cyber threats and reassure the public that all steps are being taken to protect the vote. Congress has funneled $380 million to states to help cover the costs of adding cybersecurity personnel, conduct training and upgrade equipment.

We expect and deserve to have our ballots counted as cast. As a nation, we should proceed cautiously and demand the vulnerabilities are laid to rest. We need to trust the system to work.

The Rutland Herald (Vermont)