Voting by mail - a proposal

Voting by mail?  Really?  Sure.  Why not?

But let's do it right.  Let's do it in a way that's secure and verifiable.  Let's do it in a way that mostly eliminates fraud.  Let's do it in a way that could even support voting from your own web browser.

Let's use "multifactor authentication".

How many of us do online banking?  Ever notice how the bank will occasionally send a text to your phone before it allows you to access your account?  Notice how those "validation codes" only last for a short period of time and can only be used once?  That's "multifactor authentication".

Briefly, cyber security requires at least 2 verifiable factors: who you are, what you have, and what you know.  "Who you are" is your name.  "What you have" is a one-time validation code.  "What you know" is your password.

Now let's apply this to voting.

Every state has its own rules for voter registration, but most states require some kind of proof that you are who you say you are.  It could be a driver license, or an electric/water bill, or a tax bill, or some combination of all three.  Some pieces of information that provide verification of your identity.

Let's add two new pieces of information to your voter registration.

The first is a state-provided voter identification number.  No, not a "voter ID".  Just a number that the state keeps on file that relates directly to your identity.  It could be a driver license number, or a power/water account number (they are unique: one per household).  Or a property tax identification code (again, one per household).  But something unique to the individual that proves residence.  In the case of multiple voters in the same address, an electric bill account number is sufficient.

This is "what you have".  Something that shows you legally reside in the voting district.

Now let's add "what you know".  This is something that you provide to the voter registration authority.  It is something that only you know: something that you know that others should not know.  Think of this as a password or a validation code.  And, just like a bank's validation code, it can only be used once.

Here's how mail in voting would work:

You would be mailed an empty ballot by the town registrar (or whomever is in charge of mailing out ballots).  The ballot would have your name on it, but both the state-provided and voter-provided data is blank.

You fill in the ballot.  You enter both pieces of unique information: the data that the state gave you, and the data that you gave the registrar.

Then you put the ballot in the mail.

The ballot is received from the city.  The state-provided data is verified, the voter-provided data is verified, and the vote is counted.

Now, here's the anti-fraud protection: As soon as the vote is processed, the voter-provided data is deleted.  The voter-provided data was a one-time validation code.  Once used, it cannot be used again.  Thus, no other ballots with the same state/voter data can be counted.

All mail-in ballots must be processed at least 5 working days before the election.  If a ballot was sent out and nothing was received, the city would send a postcard or an email to the voter to let them know that "a ballot was not processed" with their data.  This provides "validation": verification that a vote was NOT received.  This allows the voter the time to appear at the polling place and physically cast a vote as long as the state/voter data has not been used.

In all cases, the same state/voter data cannot be used twice in the same election.

Lastly, the city provides a way to easily add a new voter-provided data item for the next election.  It could be via a form enclosed in an envelope, or a fold-over postcard, or a web page.

But in all cases, only one vote can be cast by one person, and only in a district where the voter has verified legal residence.

Multifactor authentication can provide a way for those who want to vote by mail to do so safely, in a validated manner, and in a way that mostly prevents fraud.

We're in the 21st century.  Let's use 21st century tools to allow people to easily and securely cast a vote - and let's motivate more people to vote.