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2460	9540	Don't go postal over mail-in voting. A look into voting by mail with yours truly, The Asylum.
10100	18040	First of all, who am I? I am a 13-year-old girl, and two years ago I was the youngest speaker at HOPE.
18040	22620	And a lot has happened since then. I spoke three times at DEF CON.
22620	27960	I spoke in the Roots Asylum, the Bipacking Village, and the Voting Village.
27960	37880	I also gave a talk on election security in Romania at DEFCAMP, spreading the word about election security worldwide.
37940	44900	My election hacking from the Roots Asylum was highlighted at a congressional hearing on election security.
45000	49000	And I am the founder and CEO of Girls Who Hack.
49000	53680	Our motto is teaching girls the skills of hacking so that they can change the future.
53680	60380	I provide online and physical lessons to any girl who wants to start her journey in cyber security.
60960	66960	Speaking of my startups, I also started SecureOpenVote.
66960	71080	I am building my own end-to-end election system.
71080	80160	This year at DEF CON, I have my reporting system running in the Voting Village so you can try to change the vote count.
81800	83980	So let's jump in.
83980	91260	Due to COVID-19, this year's 2020 election is going to be one of the hardest in history.
91580	98920	More people than ever are switching to mail-in voting instead of voting in person.
99000	107340	To give you an idea of how many people voted in the 2016 elections by mail, 25% voted by mail.
107340	115400	So let's clarify how voting by mail works, dispel some rumors, and go over the pros and cons.
116620	121420	Starting with a quote from a high-level politician.
121420	131240	There is no way, zero, that mail-in ballots will be anything less than substantially fraudulent.
131260	139780	Mailboxes will be robbed, ballots will be forged, and even illegally printed out and fraudulently signed.
140000	144420	Whoa, there is a lot to unpack there.
144500	149380	First of all, he said that mailboxes will be robbed.
149380	159660	First of all, this is a federal crime, punishable by up to five years in jail and a quarter of a million dollars in fines.
159960	166120	Stealing mail from someone's house to get their ballot would be difficult.
166120	172680	You would have to know when the ballot was mailed out, and everyone is home these days anyway.
173080	176300	The postal mailboxes are emptied daily.
176300	188840	So, unless you are going to go out in broad daylight, pick the lock to a mailbox, and steal a bunch of mail-in ballots, pretty sure mailboxes are safe.
188840	196480	If you did manage to get away with it, it is likely that the few ballots that you got will not tip the election.
197220	203920	In May 2020, a big donor to the Trump campaign was appointed as Postmaster General.
203920	213180	Since then, people have noticed that the mail has slowed significantly. Mail and packages have been returned.
213460	223800	He has shut down the mail sorting machines, forcing mail to be sorted by hand, taking the postal service back to the 1950s.
223800	230040	Even one of my Girls Who Hack soldering kits has come back to me. See?
233580	242060	Anyway, but the good news is, you can always drop off your ballot in a ballot drop-off box.
242060	248120	In fact, over 65% of all mail-in ballots are cast this way.
248120	258400	With everything going on in the mail system, your best bet is to drop your vote off at a ballot drop-off box, or in person.
258400	263360	But someone can just steal the entire ballot box.
264360	272700	Not likely. Ballot boxes are kept at secure locations, such as police stations or municipal buildings.
272700	278380	The boxes are emptied daily and have security cameras on them.
278380	285360	Additional security features, such as unique keyed locks or tamper-evident seals, are also used.
285360	294620	I know what you're thinking. But Bia, in your other election talk, you said tamper-evident seals can be undetectably opened and manipulated.
296100	304400	Okay, you do that. Go to the police station with your lockpicks and your acetone and open the ballot box.
304400	306980	Let me know how that works out for you.
306980	316380	The penalty for mail ballot fraud is up to five years in prison and $10,000 in fines for each act of fraud.
316380	319340	That is in addition to state penalties.
321080	334280	If the postal system and the ballot boxes still scare you, you can always drop off your ballot off by hand to the county clerk's or election board office.
334280	339600	You may be saying that people are just going to print out their own ballots.
340100	344500	But the ballots themselves are very difficult to forge.
344500	352420	They use many security features, including special papers with UV-sensitive markings and watermarks.
352420	355860	You can't just run to Staples and buy this stuff.
355860	362580	If you have ever held a piece of fake money, you know how it feels different than the real thing.
362580	373840	When the election officials are opening the ballots, the one that Bob printed out on his inkjet at home will definitely stick out.
373840	379060	Some ballots use color shift ink or magnetic printing ink.
379060	385940	This ink is extremely difficult to source and is delivered by armored truck.
385940	393080	It's also worth noting that you need an actual printing press to use these inks.
393080	397340	Bob won't just be loading that into his inkjet.
397340	402880	Many ballots have micro-printed unique security codes or barcodes.
402880	410860	This prevents duplicates and allows voters to track their ballot as it travels through the system.
413490	419770	Another thing that this high official said is, they will forge signatures.
420490	425870	But the voter's signature is verified with their past signatures.
425870	432070	Some states provide extra training for their election workers to spot forgeries.
432070	437930	If an inconsistency is found, it is reported to the state prosecutor's office.
439630	444850	But you can vote twice, once by mail and once in person.
445450	449070	That's a big cup of NOPE!
449070	453190	Mail-in ballots are due before the election.
453190	459210	This gives election officials time to check the voter off the roll as voted.
459210	465990	If the voter goes and tries to vote in person, the state prosecutor's office is notified.
466850	472770	Occasionally, people have received two ballots in the mail with their name on it.
472770	476230	No, this does not mean you can vote twice.
476230	478190	But how does this happen?
478690	482810	Okay, how many of you have ever merged two databases?
482890	487330	Well, the computer sees these two names as unique.
488010	494390	Marge Bouvier, the name she used when she first registered to vote at age 18,
494390	500710	and Marge Bouvier Simpson, the name she took after she got married to the handsome Homer Simpson
501130	504470	and what is in the DMV system.
504510	512530	When this state merged the DMV database with the voter registration database,
512530	514590	Marge showed up twice.
514590	523190	The good news is humans check these names and signatures on the ballot to catch these kinds of errors.
523190	530770	If you ever receive two ballots, simply call the election office and they can correct the error.
530770	536790	Now that we've debunked some myths, let's talk about how voting by mail works.
536790	543630	Every state is in charge of its own elections, so it differs slightly from state to state.
543630	548570	Some states allow you to vote by mail without a specific reason.
548570	552370	Others require a valid reason to vote by mail.
552370	557730	A few do not consider COVID to be a valid reason.
557770	563830	But this is changing day by day, so check vote.org to see what your state is doing.
565390	569070	The first step is to register to vote.
569070	575050	39 states and the District of Columbia allow their citizens to register online.
575050	583550	Every state has a printable registration form, so you can print it out and either mail it in or deliver it in person.
583720	586930	Make sure that you register by the deadline.
586930	595050	If it is getting close, bring that registration form to the clerk's office or election office in person.
595050	600450	If you have not registered to vote, do it after this talk. I'm serious.
600450	604450	It takes only two minutes. Literally two minutes.
604450	609210	And it's very important, because every vote counts.
610150	613350	I made this really big so you can take a screenshot.
613670	619330	Go to register.vote.org to register.
619330	633570	Vote.org has tons of great voter resources, including checking if you are registered, how to get a mail-in ballot, and a polling place locator and election reminders.
635290	639090	Next, make sure you're eligible to vote by mail.
639090	643550	Currently, five states have an all-mail-in ballot election.
643550	655210	28 states and the District of Columbia have a no-excuse absentee voting, which means you can just vote by mail without having to give a specific reason.
655210	659150	In 17 states, you need a valid reason.
659150	661250	This differs from state to state.
661250	666750	Some reasons include old age, being infirmed, or out of state.
666750	674870	To see if you are eligible to vote by mail, go to vote.org for your state and see if you are eligible.
675230	684610	Here is a map, and again, things are constantly changing, so check online at vote.org to see where your state fits in.
691280	695100	Next, you have to request an absentee ballot.
695200	699380	If you have not done this, do it now.
699380	703820	After my talk, go and request your absentee ballot.
703820	709480	This will give them time to add you on the list and mail out your ballot.
709480	713640	Guess what? You can do this at vote.org.
716400	721140	When you finally receive your ballot, sit down and fill it out.
721140	727760	Right away! Don't put it in a pile of bills and junk mail you are ignoring.
727760	730260	Sit down and just fill it out.
730260	735320	One of the great things with mail and ballots is you can research the candidates.
735320	739940	Get your OSINT on and find out what each candidate is all about.
739940	745240	Who knows, perhaps that school board member actually owns a chocolate factory.
746120	755220	COVID is a valid reason for many to vote by mail, and should be considered valid by all states.
755220	766320	If a voter is immune-compromised or lives with someone who is, not allowing them to vote by mail is a form of voter suppression.
766700	780980	Voting in person also brings the risk of COVID to the election workers, many of which are elderly retirees, putting their lives in danger just so you can vote in person.
780980	790330	The poll workers also have to clean the machines between each vote, slowing the process and lengthening the poll lines.
791520	796320	It also forces people to go to extremes to protect themselves.
796320	803190	This lady had to wear a trash bag. Now that's one fashion statement that should never be made.
805250	812990	In many states, processing of mail-in ballots can begin as soon as they are received.
812990	818270	Other states do this anywhere from one month to the day of the election.
818570	828030	By permitting election officials to do a lot of the work ahead of time, the counting process on election day will be quicker.
828030	838250	It's important to note that if ballots are counted ahead of time, the results are not released before election day.
838250	845370	Regardless of how they are counted, this is a great opportunity to perform a risk-limiting audit.
845690	854290	And every state should do this. You have everything you need, hand-marked paper ballots and people to count them.
856230	861030	But mail-in voting has tons of fraud.
861030	874590	Between 2000 and 2014, over a billion mail-in ballots were cast, and a professor at Loyola School of Law found only 31 cases of fraud.
876530	880250	There are many benefits to mail-in voting.
880250	886530	Voter turnout is 10% higher, and it does not seem to be one party or another.
886530	895990	It reduces some voter suppression, like poll intimidation, or people who have to travel a great distance to vote and have no transportation.
895990	902510	Or people who have to work on election day, which should be a national holiday, by the way.
902510	911330	It also protects from attacks by foreign actors. Kind of hard to hack a piece of paper, isn't it, Putin?
911490	917370	One of the biggest benefits is it speeds up the election process.
917370	926870	No long lines at polls, or people not being able to vote because of crashing e-poll books or slow election machines.
926870	936150	The two most important things are it's a hand-marked paper ballot, and it allows for better informed voting.
936150	940270	No more just randomly picking school board members.
941730	952690	Remember this guy? The high-ranking government official from earlier voted by mail in 2017, 18, and 20.
952690	958510	I guess the system is good enough for him, so why shouldn't it be good enough for us?
960830	964730	And remember, get involved. Become a poll worker.
964730	972830	See how the system works first-hand and give those old retirees a break, especially during COVID.
972950	977110	You can actually save a life by becoming a poll worker.
977110	981970	Don't want to go outside and see people? I don't blame you. Not a problem.
981970	990170	You can lend your cybersecurity knowledge and skills to those who need it most by becoming a CyberSurge volunteer.
990310	996190	This can be done by remote. You can do this by contacting this email or going to this site.
996590	1003890	Most important thing you can do is vote. Register to vote at vote.org and be counted.
1004550	1011510	Thank you for listening to my talk, and don't forget to vote BSI Lab for President in 2044.
1012590	1016130	This message paid for by BSI Lab for President 2044.