Free Speech For People Senior Advisor On Election Security Susan Greenhalgh recently submitted a written declaration in support of seven state defendants, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, New York, Texas, Kentucky and Georgia, in a lawsuit Harley v. Kosinski. The suit was brought by overseas voters seeking to require the states to allow them to vote over the internet. Citing declarations from Greenhalgh and other online voting experts as persuasive, Judge Brian Cogan ruled from the bench on October 13th in favor of the state defendants. 

The declaration was filed in support of the defendant states to provide the Court with necessary historical information detailing the substantial efforts taken by the federal government to research the feasibility of developing a secure online voting system, and the conclusion that secure online voting is not currently possible.

“Plaintiffs’ complaint is based on the flawed assumption that voted ballots can be returned securely and reliably, and suggests that by dedicating sufficient government resources to this problem it could be solved easily. But Plaintiffs’ complaint appears ignorant of over two decades of research and over a $100 million spent by federal and state governments in search of secure online ballot return methods, and the federal government’s ultimate decision to abandon an effort to develop an online voting system for military and overseas voters because of overwhelming evidence that it could not be done securely,” Greenhalgh wrote in the declaration.

FSFP recently joined a coalition of scientific experts and government watchdog groups in issuing an open letter calling on Governors, Secretaries of State and State Elections Directors to avoid the use of any internet voting or voting app system in U.S. elections. The coalition outlined key recommendations for avoiding “inherently insecure” internet voting systems and technologies.

“Though Congress has wisely declined to require or fund online voting for military and overseas voters, over thirty states have adopted this unwise practice. Plaintiffs draw the erroneous conclusion that this means it is safe and reliable,” said Greenhalgh.

Read the entire Declaration here.