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UWF Students Propose Solutions To Secure, Safeguard Voter Information
March 9, 2019
University of West Florida students are taking steps to create awareness and solutions for registered voter impersonation and misrepresentation, and their proposed solutions are receiving statewide recognition.
Through a sponsorship from the UWF College of Business’s Center for Entrepreneurship, junior mechanical engineering major, Samantha Brown, and senior computer science major, Christian Um Kaman recently participated in the 2019 Future of Florida Summit, where this year’s topic was Technology and Public Policy.
Brown was Tate High School’s 2017 valedictorian.
Students from 20 universities and colleges gathered at the University of Florida to draft a public policy pilot project that utilizes advances in technology and can be implemented in both state and local government election processes.
Brown, Um Kaman and eight students from several other Florida-based universities were placed on a team that worked together to create and present a Voter Identification Privacy Rights proposal. Brown, who believed she might have been susceptible to voter impersonation in last year’s midterm election, proposed the idea during a breakout session.
“Last year, I planned to participate in the midterm election, but I was unable to receive a ballot because my address was listed incorrectly online,” Brown said. “I later learned that in order to update your address you only had to provide a name and birthday.”
Over the course of the two-day competition, the team created a presentation for a panel of judges comprised of policy experts from around the state.
“During our presentation we showed the judges how easy it is to use a Google search and access a person’s address,” Brown said. “We used Sen. Marco Rubio as an example and showed his address and all of his information.”
The team’s proposal suggested making changes to a Florida Statute by preventing other citizens or third-party entities from accessing voter information and protecting anonymity by requiring more extensive authentication to access individuals’ personal voter record.
The proposal earned third place out of ten teams, which came with the reward of judges from the competition making plans to pair the team with voter data experts and other voter-focused organizations to discuss a way to make their proposal a reality.
“After attending this summit, I am excited to enact positive change in my state,” Brown said. “As students, we are are able to turn negative experiences into areas of opportunity that strengthen the election process.”
The UWF Center for Entrepreneurship also sponsored UWF students Carsen Wilber and Jessie Brown who participated in the competition on a different team. UWF student entrepreneur in residence Basil Kuloba was on the organizing committee for the summit.
Brown was recently featured on NorthEscambia as she competed on the television show “Who Wants to be a Millionaire”.
Courtesy photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Comments
3 Responses to “UWF Students Propose Solutions To Secure, Safeguard Voter Information”
Wish this group could do something about the dozens on dozens of robo-calls during the election times.
99% of the time we KNOW who we will vote for and these calls all hours of the day and into the night are Annoying and Counterproductive.
Help with elections by Allowing Only US Citizens who are Qualified to vote and require Photo Identification of each and every prospective voter before they are permitted to participate in an election.
I will never forget the day my neighbor asked me to come over to read a piece of her mail. It told her how her neighbors had voted in the previous election for president. I was angered because I had always believed how we vote is private.
Once again, they are dividing us into groups. I did not belong to the party that sent out the letters.
Excellent Job UWF team: #citizenship – “making changes to a Florida Statute by preventing other citizens or third-party entities from accessing voter information and protecting anonymity by requiring more extensive authentication to access individuals’ personal voter record.” Google would do the opposite thank you students of a new era!