Sheila Nix advocates mobile voting amid security concerns
- Sheila Nix, former deputy governor of Illinois and chief of staff for Kamala Harris' campaign, has advocated for mobile voting.
- Despite some states experimenting with mobile voting, a working group concluded that secure online voting is currently not feasible due to technological limitations.
- Experts widely agree that the risks associated with online voting outweigh the benefits, highlighting the need for secure voting methods.
Sheila Nix, who served as chief of staff for Vice President Kamala Harris' presidential campaign, has been a prominent advocate for mobile voting. Despite her efforts, significant concerns regarding the security of online voting persist. Nix previously led an organization that promoted mobile voting, but a working group concluded that the current cybersecurity landscape makes secure online voting infeasible. This group, which met for over a year, stated that the necessary technologies for secure internet ballot return do not yet exist. In 2018, West Virginia allowed some voters to use a mobile app for voting, but experts have consistently warned against widespread online voting due to security vulnerabilities. The D.C. Council also considered a bill for electronic voting, but past attempts to secure online voting have raised alarms about potential hacking. The consensus among election security experts is that online voting poses too many risks, emphasizing the need for secure and auditable voting methods.