Skip to main content ●About ●Contact ●Press ●People ●Opportunities ●EFF's 35th Anniversary ●Issues ●Free Speech ●Privacy ●Creativity and Innovation ●Transparency ●International ●Security ●Our Work ●Deeplinks Blog ●Press Releases ●Events ●Legal Cases ●Whitepapers ●Podcast ●Annual Reports ●Take Action ●Action Center ●Electronic Frontier Alliance ●Volunteer ●Tools ●Privacy Badger ●Surveillance Self-Defense ●Certbot ●Atlas of Surveillance ●Cover Your Tracks ●Street Level Surveillance ●apkeep ●Donate ●Donate to EFF ●Giving Societies ●Shop ●Sponsorships ●Other Ways to Give ●Membership FAQ ●Donate ●Donate to EFF ●Shop ●Other Ways to Give

Email updates on news, actions, and events in your area. Join EFF Lists ●Copyright (CC BY) ●Trademark ●Privacy Policy ●Thanks Electronic Frontier Foundation Donate Electronic Frontier Foundation ●About ●Contact ●Press ●People ●Opportunities ●EFF's 35th Anniversary ●Issues ●Free Speech ●Privacy ●Creativity and Innovation ●Transparency ●International ●Security ●Our Work ●Deeplinks Blog ●Press Releases ●Events ●Legal Cases ●Whitepapers ●Podcast ●Annual Reports ●Take Action ●Action Center ●Electronic Frontier Alliance ●Volunteer ●Tools ●Privacy Badger ●Surveillance Self-Defense ●Certbot ●Atlas of Surveillance ●Cover Your Tracks ●Street Level Surveillance ●apkeep ●Donate ●Donate to EFF ●Giving Societies ●Shop ●Sponsorships ●Other Ways to Give ●Membership FAQ ●Donate ●Donate to EFF ●Shop ●Other Ways to Give

Election Security

Voting is the cornerstone of our democracy. The mechanics of how we vote, and how those votes are counted, are critical to ensuring our votes are meaningful. EFF supports paper records for every vote, and automatic, risk limiting audits for every election. We'll oppose legislation that doesn't include those two critical measures. EFF opposes online voting. In 2018, several senators introduced the Protecting American Votes and Elections (PAVE) Act. This proposal mandates the use of paper ballots and risk-limiting audits in every federal election, which will assure that our democratic process isn’t hijacked by hackers or foreign powers. It’s a great step forward, and we hope Congress considers a similar bill in a future session.

Paper Records

Touchscreen voting machines, counting machines, and other devices involved in elections are subject to hacking. Such attacks by their very nature can be stealthy and ambiguous. A skillful attack can tamper with voting machines and then delete itself, making it impossible to prove after the fact that an election suffered interference. Paper records ensure that it is possible to detect and quickly correct for such interference. Many states still don't follow this baseline best practice.

Risk Limiting Audits

To catch vote tampering, it's important to check some paper records by hand, and not rely on a machine “recount.” An audit shouldn't be a special occurrence during a disputed election. High-quality audits should be automatic, regular parts of our democratic process. Risk Limiting Audits (RLAs) are a proven, innovative way to pick a small sample of ballots for manual counting while achieving a very high level of statistical confidence that any electronic vote-tampering will be detected. This makes them cheap enough to perform audits on every election. As of 2018, three states have implemented RLA mandates, with Colorado leading the way. The other forty-seven should do the same as soon as possible.

No Online Voting

Proposals surface every now and then to allow voting from home or abroad via smartphones or laptops. Security experts are near-unanimous that this is unacceptably risky, and EFF supports this conclusion.

Protect digital privacy and free expression. EFF's public interest legal work, activism, and software development preserve fundamental rights. Protect digital privacy and free expression. EFF's public interest legal work, activism, and software development preserve fundamental rights. DONATE TO EFF

EFF Related Content: Election Security

Press Release | April 28, 2025

EFF Leads Prominent Security Experts in Urging Trump Administration to Leave Chris Krebs Alone

SAN FRANCISCO – The Trump Administration must cease its politically motivated investigation of former U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Director Christopher Krebs, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and dozens hundreds (see update below) of prominent cybersecurity and election security experts urged in an open letter. The letter – signed... ●Read more about EFF Leads Prominent Security Experts in Urging Trump Administration to Leave Chris Krebs Alone

Deeplinks Blog byJason Kelley, Eva Galperin | April 11, 2025

Cybersecurity Community Must Not Remain Silent On Executive Order Attacking Former CISA Director

●Español Cybersecurity professionals and the infosec community have essential roles to play in protecting our democracy, securing our elections, and building, testing, and safeguarding government infrastructure. It is critically important for us to speak up to ensure that essential work continues and that those engaged in these good faith efforts are... ●Read more about Cybersecurity Community Must Not Remain Silent On Executive Order Attacking Former CISA Director

Deeplinks Blog by Svea Windwehr | January 16, 2025

Systemic Risk Reporting: A System in Crisis?

●Polski The first batch of reports assessing the so called “systemic risks” posed by the largest online platforms are in. These reports are a result of the Digital Services Act (DSA), Europe’s new law regulating platforms like Google, Meta, Amazon or X, and have been eagerly awaited by civil... ●Read more about Systemic Risk Reporting: A System in Crisis?

Deeplinks Blog byRindala Alajaji, Hayley Tsukayama | October 30, 2024

Triumphs, Trials, and Tangles From California's 2024 Legislative Session

●Español California’s 2024 legislative session has officially adjourned, and it’s time to reflect on the wins and losses that have shaped Californians’ digital rights landscape this year.EFF monitored nearly 100 bills in the state this session alone, addressing a broad range of issues related to privacy, free speech, and innovation. These... ●Read more about Triumphs, Trials, and Tangles From California's 2024 Legislative Session

Deeplinks Blog by Guest Author, Cindy Cohn | October 9, 2024

Election Security: When to Worry, When to Not

●Español Everyone wants an election that is secure and reliable and that will ensure that the voters’ actual choices are reflected in the results. That’s as true as we head into the 2024 U.S. general elections as it always has been. ●Read more about Election Security: When to Worry, When to Not

Pages

●1 ●2 ●3 ●4 ●5 ●6 ●7 ●8 ●9 ●… ●next ﹀ ●last » Back to top

Follow EFF:

●mastodon ●facebook ●instagram ●x ●Blue Sky ●youtube ●flicker ●linkedin ●tiktok ●threads Check out our 4-star rating on Charity Navigator.

Contact

●General ●Legal ●Security ●Membership ●Press

About

●Calendar ●Volunteer ●Victories ●History ●Internships ●Jobs ●Staff ●Diversity & Inclusion

Issues

●Free Speech ●Privacy ●Creativity & Innovation ●Transparency ●International ●Security

Updates

●Blog ●Press Releases ●Events ●Legal Cases ●Whitepapers ●EFFector Newsletter

Press

●Press Contact

Donate

●Join or Renew Membership Online ●One-Time Donation Online ●Giving Societies ●Corporate Giving and Sponsorship ●Shop ●Other Ways to Give ●Copyright (CC BY) ●Trademark ●Privacy Policy ●Thanks