Many states expanded voting by mail for the November 2020 election. There is no evidence to support claims of widespread fraud, but the expected increase in remote voting poses challenges for election officials and voters alike. The scientific evidence related to the use of mail-in voting provides key insights into the coming election and potential issues for voters and election officials.

The Center for Scientific Evidence in Public Issues is focused on making sure decision-makers are aware of the latest scientific evidence on the dangers of online voting.

At the AAAS EPI Center’s request, computer scientists and election experts met with Delaware’s State Election Commissioner Anthony Albence to discuss concerns related to the insecurity of the electronic systems being used for absentee voting.

Election administrators are exploring and implementing technology to deliver blank ballots electronically. The expansion of vote by mail in many states necessitates an option for voters with disabilities, these recommendations can help limit the security and privacy risks introduced with electronic blank ballot delivery and remote electronic ballot marking.

All internet voting systems and technologies — including email and mobile voting apps — are currently inherently insecure. There is no technical evidence that any internet voting technology is safe or can be made so in the foreseeable future; all research to date demonstrates the opposite.

Cybersecurity experts and leading computer organizations reached out to the nation’s governors and secretaries of state on Thursday urging them to exclude use of internet voting platforms and mobile app systems that scientific evidence has verified carry vulnerabilities, security dangers and threaten voting integrity in the United States.

The nation’s leading experts in cybersecurity, computing, and science called on Governors, Secretaries of State and State Election Directors to refrain from allowing the use of any internet voting or voting app system in U.S. elections. An open letter prepared by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Center for Scientific Evidence in Public Issues and endorsed by leading organizations and experts in cybersecurity and computing highlights two decades of rigorous, science-based analysis which clearly demonstrates that internet voting is not a secure solution for voting in the U.S., nor will it be in the foreseeable future.