Why is US digital election infrastructure (DEI) in a vulnerable state and what are the possible options to better secure it? To answer these questions systematically, federal policy and current DEI are analyzed through a risk management lens, including both elite and democratic models of risk management. This analysis suggests that DEI is at risk because federal policy currently enables states to use Direct-Recording Electronic (DRE) voting machines without a paper trail and allows states to manage their own risk environment with respect to digital voter registration databases (VRDs). This in turn produces significant variance in outcomes in levels of cyber security and priority of VRD governance. These factors combine to present serious vulnerabilities that could be exploited in a targeted attack during a Presidential election to disastrous consequence. As a result, policy options and potential technical improvements to DEI should be explored.
","abstract_html":"<p>Why is US digital election infrastructure (DEI) in a vulnerable state and what are the possible options to better secure it? To answer these questions systematically, federal policy and current DEI are analyzed through a risk management lens, including both elite and democratic models of risk management. This analysis suggests that DEI is at risk because federal policy currently enables states to use Direct-Recording Electronic (DRE) voting machines without a paper trail and allows states to manage their own risk environment with respect to digital voter registration databases (VRDs). This in turn produces significant variance in outcomes in levels of cyber security and priority of VRD governance. These factors combine to present serious vulnerabilities that could be exploited in a targeted attack during a Presidential election to disastrous consequence. As a result, policy options and potential technical improvements to DEI should be explored.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Himes, Tyson S"],"institution":"The Graduate School and University Center of The City University of New York","degree_name":"Master of Arts","degree_level":"Master","degree_discipline":"Political Science","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Alan DiGaetano"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2019,"date_issued":"2019-05-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2019-05-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:00:35Z","subjects":["Other Political Science","election policy","election infrastructure","risk management"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/3198","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Alan DiGaetano"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Himes, Tyson S"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2019-04-29T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Political Science"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Master"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["The Graduate School and University Center of The City University of New York"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Other Political Science","election policy","election infrastructure","risk management"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/3198"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Why is US digital election infrastructure (DEI) in a vulnerable state and what are the possible options to better secure it? To answer these questions systematically, federal policy and current DEI are analyzed through a risk management lens, including both elite and democratic models of risk management. This analysis suggests that DEI is at risk because federal policy currently enables states to use Direct-Recording Electronic (DRE) voting machines without a paper trail and allows states to manage their own risk environment with respect to digital voter registration databases (VRDs). This in turn produces significant variance in outcomes in levels of cyber security and priority of VRD governance. These factors combine to present serious vulnerabilities that could be exploited in a targeted attack during a Presidential election to disastrous consequence. As a result, policy options and potential technical improvements to DEI should be explored.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["American Digital Election Infrastructure: Policy, Risks, Options"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Alan DiGaetano"],"dc:creator":["Himes, Tyson S"],"dc:date.available":["2019-04-29T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Why is US digital election infrastructure (DEI) in a vulnerable state and what are the possible options to better secure it? To answer these questions systematically, federal policy and current DEI are analyzed through a risk management lens, including both elite and democratic models of risk management. This analysis suggests that DEI is at risk because federal policy currently enables states to use Direct-Recording Electronic (DRE) voting machines without a paper trail and allows states to manage their own risk environment with respect to digital voter registration databases (VRDs). This in turn produces significant variance in outcomes in levels of cyber security and priority of VRD governance. These factors combine to present serious vulnerabilities that could be exploited in a targeted attack during a Presidential election to disastrous consequence. As a result, policy options and potential technical improvements to DEI should be explored.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/3198"],"dc:subject":["Other Political Science","election policy","election infrastructure","risk management"],"dc:title":["American Digital Election Infrastructure: Policy, Risks, Options"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Political Science"],"thesis:degree_level":["Master"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts"],"thesis:institution_name":["The Graduate School and University Center of The City University of New York"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:00:35Z"}