Since the coronavirus pandemic first appeared on their shores, public health concerns have dominated election preparations in the United States and Europe, leading election officials to enact drastic measures that affect the security of their elections.
While a comprehensive and swift response to the pandemic is important, it must not come at the expense of any country's election security.
The Covid-19 pandemic has added another layer of complexity to securing democratic elections.
Every country conducting an election during the pandemic must recognise that complexity and adjust accordingly, so that it can effectively defend against, detect and recover from any potential attacks, whether they are from foreign adversaries or cybercriminals.
Transatlantic democracies must recognise how changes in election administration in response to Covid-19 — such as mail-in ballot expansion — could impact the security of their elections.
Implementing new voting technologies and procedures for processing ballots, especially right before an election, can introduce new security risks.
How not to do it - Poland
For example, Poland, the first nation to hold a presidential election since the coronavirus outbreak, initially sought to hold its presidential election on short notice, entirely by mail, upon facing challenges with holding an in-person election during its coronavirus lockdown.
As part of this effort, Polish officials mandated that its postal service receive the country's voter-registration data.
The Polish postal service, which had no previous experience administering elections, then made the mistake of requesting voters' personal identifiable information via email from cities without implementing adequate security precautions, which could have made that information acce ..
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