Tag Archives: election

Cybersecurity experts discuss election, research security

By | December 3, 2020
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Ravi Pendse and Javed Ali on Zoom call.

Almost a month after Election Day, experts discussed the threats to election security and cybersecurity and its role within the University of Michigan community in the second installment of the Trotter Distinguished Leadership Series.  Javed Ali, former senior director for counterterrorism at the National Security Council, discussed the connections between technology and election security. Ali said the shift towards paper… Read More »

Voting counts: How U-M grad students answered the question ‘Did you get my ballot?’

By | October 30, 2020
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This election year in Michigan has seen a huge increase in absentee ballot requests. As a result, clerk’s offices are spending a lot of time answering phone calls from voters checking on the status of their ballot. School of Information graduate students Lauren Trimble, Joshua Tooker, and Michael Payne worked this summer on a pilot project to streamline… Read More »

Course aims to train future leader against cyber crime

By | September 11, 2020
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skull and crossbones over a voting booth

In the course “Cybersecurity for Future Leaders” (EECS 498 / PUBPOL 475), students will gain a better understanding of the science, technology, public policy, and national security considerations behind cybersecurity in order to protect the very tenets of democracy. Election security will be one of the course’s six focus areas this fall 2020. The course is taught from… Read More »

2020 presidential debate: Doing our part to support democracy

By | February 28, 2020
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Presidential Debate 2020 University of Michigan logo

You have probably heard that the University of Michigan was selected to host the second of three 2020 Presidential Debates. The event will take place on the Ann Arbor campus on October 15, 2020, and will be staged largely on the university’s athletics campus, with Crisler Center as the main stage. In addition to the Crisler Center, other… Read More »

Halderman honored for public engagement efforts

By | February 6, 2020
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J Alex Halderman testifies in front of the Senate Intelligence Committe.

J. Alex Halderman, director of the Center for Computer Security and Society in the College of Engineering, will receive the President’s Award for National and State Leadership, which honors individuals who provide sustained, dedicated, and influential leadership and service in major national or state capacities. Halderman, professor of computer science and engineering, focuses his research on computer security… Read More »

SI students help improve Ann Arbor voter experience

By | February 4, 2020
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young blond woman wearing a blue coat stands in front of a building next to a "Vote Here" sign.

The Line Tracking Project, a partnership between three UMSI students and the Ann Arbor City Clerk’s Office, used several years of student research on voter wait times to develop a new public website that allows voters to check wait times at their local polling place and access additional tools to facilitate the voting process. The project recently won… Read More »

Voters fail mock election, exposing voting machine flaws

By | January 8, 2020
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Many voters across the country will cast ballots this year on machines called ballot-marking devices (BMDs), which combine the convenience of touchscreen technology with an auditable paper trail. However, the system relies on voters to identify errors. That could be a problem according to a U-M report published in early January. According to the study, only 6.6% of… Read More »

Halderman co-chairs new commission to protect Michigan votes

By | March 26, 2019
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map of Michigan overlayed with images of locks

Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson recently announced a new Election Security Commission to be co-chaired by U-M professor of computer science and engineering J. Alex Halderman. His work in voting security and in particular electronic voting machines has positioned him as a preeminent expert in the field. Halderman has made multiple contributions to election security advocacy at… Read More »

Election security: Halderman recommends actions to ensure integrity of U.S. systems

By | March 6, 2019
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J. Alex Halderman, a U-M professor of computer science and engineering, testified on February 27 in front of the US House Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Service and General Government, urging lawmakers to approve additional funding for election cybersecurity prior to the upcoming 2020 elections. Halderman described the need as critical, citing two years of investigation by Congress and… Read More »

A secure future for US elections starts in the classroom

By | November 9, 2018
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Voting machines have largely replaced paper ballots – but many of these machines are susceptible to errors, manipulation, or hacking, raising concerns about the integrity of election results. Professor J. Alex Halderman has been at the forefront of exposing vulnerabilities in electronic voting systems around the world. By pointing to root causes behind these shortcomings, he hopes to… Read More »

U-M experts figure prominently in election coverage

By | November 8, 2018
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Curtained voting booths showing legs of people inside.

In the run-up to the 2018 midterm elections, concerns about hacking, transparency, and the influence of “fake news” on election outcomes garnered unprecedented coverage by news organizations. Both national and local media often reached out to U-M experts in cybersecurity, social media, and data analysis to provide perspective, interpret research, and explain the challenges of our current electoral… Read More »

U-M tool measures ‘iffy’ news on social media

By | October 11, 2018
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As the mid-term election approaches, the U-M Center for Social Media Responsibility offers media and the public a tool to help monitor the prevalence of fake news on social media through a Platform Health Metric called the Iffy Quotient. Housed in the U-M School of Information, the center’s first report confirms from a deep analysis what was suspected… Read More »

Data vs. gerrymandering

By | March 1, 2018
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cluster graph showing existing district map as extreme outlier

Pennsylvania’s congressional map was among the most gerrymandered in history. Experts like LSA political science professor Jowei Chen used data analyis and computer modeling to help change that situation. Chen’s computer programs create alternative maps based on a series of geographic constraints: maps that are compact in shape, preserve county and municipal boundaries, and have equal populations. They’re drawn,… Read More »

Halderman testifies in Senate’s Russia probe

By | June 28, 2017
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J. Alex Halderman testifies at a Senate hearing

J. Alex Halderman (second from right), professor of electrical engineering and computer science, testified before the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence at a June 21 hearing titled “Russian Interference in the 2016 U.S. Election.” It focused on the federal government’s role in safeguarding U.S. elections from outside interference. Halderman emphasized that “our highly computerized election infrastructure is vulnerable… Read More »

Integrity of voting systems still a concern

By | February 24, 2017
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Headshot of J Alex Halderman

J. Alex Halderman, professor of computer science and engineering, received a lot of media attention in the days after the 2016 presidential election for voicing concerns about the integrity of electronic voting systems in the U.S. In this extensive interview with The Chronicle of Higher Education, Halderman, director of U-M’s Center for Computer Security and Society, contends that the initial reports… Read More »

Election audits

By | November 1, 2016
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Legs of people behind 3 voting booths

Since hackers targeted the election systems of more than 20 states, cyber security experts say Michigan should routinely audit a sample of its paper ballots to protect against election fraud. The Michigan Secretary of State’s office said the state’s voter registration lists have not been targeted or affected. “[Audits] should be done routinely in order to provide a… Read More »