It’s Election Day: Will your vote count?
SAN FRANCISCO — After four months of reporting on the security and integrity of U.S. elections, Grant Burningham, host of the Yahoo News podcast “Bots & Ballots,” has come away with misgivings as to whether our votes will count in Tuesday’s midterm elections.
“Unfortunately, the best answer I can give you is: I hope so,” Burningham said in the final episode before Tuesday’s votes are tallied, adding: “I have serious concerns about the cybersecurity aspects of our election, at least in several states.” Georgia’s election system, which will decide the fate of a high-stakes gubernatorial race, is a particular concern.
Threading together interviews with dozens of experts — from members of Congress to Silicon Valley security experts to former FBI agents — on the threats presented by rogue hackers, foreign governments and campaigns of misinformation, Burningham concluded that his own worst fears may be realized.
“That we will leave the 2018 voting booth with less confidence that we’re being led by the leaders we pick,” Burningham said.
While the experts Burningham has spoken to over the past several months have led him to fear the worst when it comes to the integrity of our elections, he believes that robust voter participation is the best way to cut through uncertainty.
“Every bit of tinkering or chicanery I’m going to mention gets harder when the will of the people is obvious. And one way it can be obvious is when voter turnout is high,” Burningham said.
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More “Bots & Ballots” episodes from Yahoo News:
Ex-Obama official: U.S. ‘very vulnerable’ to Russia power grid attack
Rand Paul and Dana Rohrabacher are doing Russia’s bidding, Bill Browder says
Facebook accused of conservative bias over Kavanaugh article fact-check
Hillary Clinton adviser: We didn’t recognize ‘full scope’ of Russian interference
Why Obama didn’t act on Russian election interference benefiting Trump
House Intel Dem: Trump collusion with Russia ‘well established’
Facebook is ‘a surveillance system,’ author Cory Doctorow says
Meet the man behind the new pro-Trump Russian website in the U.S.
Ex-NSA official: Russian hack of Democrats was ‘assembly-line operation’
Ex-Twitter exec: Trump is in denial over social media threat to midterms
How Trump weaponized fake news — and changed the rules for fact checkers
Bots are poised to wreak havoc on the 2018 midterm elections
