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posted by mrpg on Wednesday October 17 2018, @07:59AM   Printer-friendly
from the Privacy-is-obsolete dept.

Approximately 35 Million voter registration records from 20 states have appeared for sale online. These records include Full Name, Phone, Address, Voting History and 'other' data. There have been other larger leaks and breaches of voter registration records in the past (for example, in 2015 191 Million were found to be freely accessible online)

Details including the affected states are available here: https://www.anomali.com/blog/estimated-35-million-voter-records-for-sale-on-popular-hacking-forum

Why is our voting history retained beyond the current election? This is especially worrisome if you vote in the wrong primaries in an area that has a prevailing opinion that differs sharply from your own.


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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 17 2018, @08:24AM (28 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 17 2018, @08:24AM (#749857)

    I disagree with the statement that people will treat you differently. Who cares? If someone cares, then they are a buster. I don't care if you voted for Hillary or Trump. Obviously some maniacs do.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 17 2018, @08:40AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 17 2018, @08:40AM (#749862)

    Hilary or Trump, as if there are only two options.

  • (Score: 2, Redundant) by Unixnut on Wednesday October 17 2018, @09:12AM (22 children)

    by Unixnut (5779) on Wednesday October 17 2018, @09:12AM (#749867)

    I disagree with the statement that people will treat you differently. Who cares? If someone cares, then they are a buster. I don't care if you voted for Hillary or Trump. Obviously some maniacs do.

    I don't know about this. I don't live in the USA, but based on the news reports I have seen coming out, there are a sizable minority of extremists that will go out and harass people. To those accosted at restaurants, to those attacked for wearing a hat, to those who block roads and those who attack people verbally (via social media or in person), etc...

    It seems to me the US is heavily polarised, to the point that extremists on both sides now openly profess that there needs to be another civil war to get rid of the "evil side" that is getting in the way of building their utopia. In such a social environment, I sure don't want anyone knowing which way I voted. You only need one maniac from the "other side" to find you for you to have problems.

    And this excludes the more subtle things, from people being denied promotion due to their political views, to possibly being fired because of them, people being silenced, to even being made a social outcast in your neighbourhood.

    And the thing is, even if there is no discrimination intended, people can feel discriminated against. Imagine you find your voting record on this leaked data, then a couple of months later you lose your job, or are passed up for promotion. Was it just a co-incidence, or did your bosses see how you voted? How can you be sure they didn't see the data? It can really make things messy.

    Personally, I am shocked they actually keep "voting history" at all. I would have expected that once the votes were counted, all individual vote information would be destroyed. After the election all you need to know is the number of people per voting area that voted a particular way, not what the individual voted.

    • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 17 2018, @09:38AM (8 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 17 2018, @09:38AM (#749875)

      It seems to me the US is heavily polarised, to the point that extremists on both sides now openly profess that there needs to be another civil war to get rid of the "evil side" that is getting in the way of building their utopia.

      Where did you get this impression? From forum/comment trolls and the news?

      • (Score: 2) by Unixnut on Wednesday October 17 2018, @10:03AM (1 child)

        by Unixnut (5779) on Wednesday October 17 2018, @10:03AM (#749886)

        > Where did you get this impression? From forum/comment trolls and the news?

        Pretty much. From social media / twitter and random news websites. I have also talked to a lot of Americans who come here (many with plans to permanently leave the US), so they might be painting a biased picture. Not actually living in the US, I can't say I have first hand data. Either you have a big problem with trolling, or you have a problem with extremists. Fact is, even if 95% of people are cordial and polite to one another regardless of political affiliation, the 5% can be a thorn in the side.

        Also, I know that you don't need the majority to be violent or extremists. Only a hardcore minority can cause serious problems, and start a cycle of violence that ends up nasty.

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 17 2018, @11:11AM

          by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 17 2018, @11:11AM (#749906)

          Id doubt its even 5%. Maybe 0.5%. Look up the q thing, the news would have you think its violet white supremacists when really its primarily a bunch grandmas and grandpas whom are fed up with the DNC/RNC scams and just really hope the ringleaders get arrested. On the other side what the news shows is mostly just "vulnerable" (poor, etc) people being paid by george soros to protest.

      • (Score: 3, Interesting) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Wednesday October 17 2018, @11:10AM (5 children)

        by MichaelDavidCrawford (2339) Subscriber Badge <mdcrawford@gmail.com> on Wednesday October 17 2018, @11:10AM (#749905) Homepage Journal

        When Gibson lead a rally in Portland a while back, the Antifa showed up all wearing black clothes and black helmets. Rifle-armed Patriot Prayer members climbed up on the roofs of neighboring buildings, however they didn't fire any shots.

        The Portland Police Bureau fired a flash-bang grenade directly at an Antifa member which embedded itself in his helmet and sent him to the hospital with a serious head injury. Had he not been wearing that helmet without a doubt that grenade would have killed him.

        Whenever the right and the left protest and counterprotest the police confiscate lots of stuff like brass knuckles and knives.

        Republican Senator Rand Paul has been voicing concern that the widespread polarization in the US could lead to political assassinations. I share the same concerns.

        Now I ask you to contemplate a truly terrifying thought:

        President Trump's effectiveness is somewhat limited because he makes plain that he's an idiot.

        What would happen to America would someone intelligent win election but who was otherwise just like Trump?

        Fascism is on the rise all over the world, it's not just in the US.

        What will happen in either 2020 or 2024 if Trump refuses to step down from office? The US military is sword to "uphold the Constitution" - but Trump is their Commander-In-Chief.

        --
        Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
        • (Score: 3, Insightful) by Unixnut on Wednesday October 17 2018, @11:42PM (3 children)

          by Unixnut (5779) on Wednesday October 17 2018, @11:42PM (#750211)

          > When Gibson lead a rally in Portland a while back, the Antifa showed up all wearing black clothes and black helmets. Rifle-armed Patriot Prayer members climbed up on the roofs of neighboring buildings, however they didn't fire any shots.

          Wow, that is quite a tense situation. Imagine if you will, that there was a third party on a roof nearby, someone not on either side, perhaps a paid agitator with a rifle. They could start firing on the Antifa members, and the Patriot Prayer members would be blamed. That would kick off one hell of shitstorm. If the courts placed the blame on the Patriot Prayer group, with no evidence any of the members in particular were the culprits, the right side would be incensed, "opression without evidence, they are trying to silence us!" they would yell. If the courts did not place the blame on the group, the left would be incensed, "They are killing us in the streets" they would yell. You would be screwed no matter what you did, and then the situation on the streets could get very explosive.

          > Republican Senator Rand Paul has been voicing concern that the widespread polarization in the US could lead to political assassinations. I share the same concerns.

          Sounds like you two are wise to the dangerous way things are unfolding. It is a shame most others seem to be sleepwalking into it

          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 17 2018, @11:50PM (1 child)

            by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 17 2018, @11:50PM (#750218)

            This is called a false flag, most people are well aware of them by now... sorry but you are responding to a troll.

          • (Score: 2) by legont on Thursday October 18 2018, @12:39AM

            by legont (4179) on Thursday October 18 2018, @12:39AM (#750239)

            The most effective would be to fire at the police preferably from/through the crowd. I bet it will happen soon.

            --
            "Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.
        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 18 2018, @07:13AM

          by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 18 2018, @07:13AM (#750345)

          The US military is sword to "uphold the Constitution"

          Back when Hawaii was an independent country, sort of, they had a name for this: a "Bayonet Constitution". The US military did not use force to impose a constitution, it practiced national self-defense against bloody poms to allow a constitution to be adopted. Get the difference? So now we reallly need to arrest the siwash son of a bitch that leads the "Prayer Whatthefuckevers" and force him to realize the futility of trying to bring about political change through the use of force and Large Samoans. Most of whom are Mormon, by the way! Named "Ammon"! No shit! Look it up! Fascists, who just recently apologized for being racist all these years: Mormon Newsroom [facebook.com]

    • (Score: 2, Insightful) by shrewdsheep on Wednesday October 17 2018, @09:40AM (5 children)

      by shrewdsheep (5215) on Wednesday October 17 2018, @09:40AM (#749877)

      The statement about "voting history" is most likely false. Probably they mean "registration" history (not from the US either).

      • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 17 2018, @02:20PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 17 2018, @02:20PM (#749966)

        At least here, it is a flag: 0 not registered, 1 registered, 2 registered and voted. It doesn't show whom you voted for, but it can show how old you are, when you moved to the area, and how politically interested you are. But your date of birth and party affiliation is already included elsewhere in the record.

      • (Score: 3, Informative) by requerdanos on Wednesday October 17 2018, @08:00PM (3 children)

        by requerdanos (5997) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday October 17 2018, @08:00PM (#750109) Journal

        The statement about "voting history" is most likely false

        The voter's "History" indicates whether the voter voted in a given election. In the U.S. voter registration records, which include demographic information, disclosed party affiliation if any, and, yes, "voting history", are public records. You can order them on magnetic or optical media as well as on paper, and search them online.

        For example, here's my state's online search form: https://vt.ncsbe.gov/RegLkup/ [ncsbe.gov]

        If you don't know someone in North Carolina to look up, you could search for Governor Roy A. Cooper, born in 1957.

        There's a section in the results for "Voter History" (31 results for Gov. Cooper) that is what's being oohed and aahed over--for elections the person voted in, you can see HOW THEY VOTED!!!11!! (absentee or in-person), what county they voted in, even what "party" whatever that means.

        If you want to download, not just search, the state board of elections has you covered: https://dl.ncsbe.gov/index.html?prefix=data/ [ncsbe.gov]

        If someone puts all this on a "hacking forum", that makes them a salesman, not a hacker.

        • (Score: 3, Insightful) by Fluffeh on Wednesday October 17 2018, @09:04PM (2 children)

          by Fluffeh (954) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday October 17 2018, @09:04PM (#750129) Journal

          *picks jaw up off the ground*

          Wow. And people have no problem with this sort of information being online for ANYONE to comb through?

    • (Score: 2) by NotSanguine on Wednesday October 17 2018, @05:01PM (2 children)

      by NotSanguine (285) <NotSanguineNO@SPAMSoylentNews.Org> on Wednesday October 17 2018, @05:01PM (#750028) Homepage Journal

      Personally, I am shocked they actually keep "voting history" at all.

      Where I live, they do not ever have such information.

      I sign in and am given a ballot. That ballot is then filled out and scanned. There is no id number or other identifying information on the ballot.

      The only thing anyone could tell from voter info about me is party affiliation. And the only reason I even have one of those is because 80% of voters in my area are of that party. As such, for most offices, winning the party's primary is often tantamount to winning in the general election.

      --
      No, no, you're not thinking; you're just being logical. --Niels Bohr
      • (Score: 2) by requerdanos on Wednesday October 17 2018, @08:01PM (1 child)

        by requerdanos (5997) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday October 17 2018, @08:01PM (#750111) Journal

        The only thing anyone could tell from voter info about me is party affiliation.

        No. From voter info, your voting history (list of which elections you voted in) is also available.

    • (Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Wednesday October 17 2018, @05:45PM (3 children)

      by DeathMonkey (1380) on Wednesday October 17 2018, @05:45PM (#750048) Journal

      It seems to me the US is heavily polarised, to the point that extremists on both sides now openly profess that there needs to be another civil war to get rid of the "evil side" that is getting in the way of building their utopia.

      No, that's a false equivalency.

      The right is the only side talking about a civil war.
      The right is the only side that committed 60% or terrorist attacks in the US in 2017. [go.com]
      The right is the only side that murdered Heather Heyer for excersizing her free speech.

      The left did take that guy's hat, though.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 17 2018, @07:34PM (1 child)

        by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 17 2018, @07:34PM (#750101)

        The right is the only side that committed 60% or terrorist attacks in the US in 2017.

        I see the left is taking the high road at limiting themselves to 40% of terrorist attacks.

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 17 2018, @11:54PM

          by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 17 2018, @11:54PM (#750223)

          Is 40% statistically significantly less than 60%? How many attacks are included in this count, we can use the poisson distribution to determine the importance of this info.

      • (Score: 2) by Unixnut on Wednesday October 17 2018, @11:16PM

        by Unixnut (5779) on Wednesday October 17 2018, @11:16PM (#750197)

        > No, that's a false equivalency.
        How so? I have seen posts from both sides saying as such. Maybe they are trolls, maybe not, but the very fact it is being openly discussed by both sides as a solution should concern you.

        > The right is the only side that committed 60% or terrorist attacks in the US in 2017. [go.com]

        so who committed the other 40%? Also it seems that the entire report was made by one group, which makes it a bit suspect to me. I Would prefer multiple sources.

        However, the fact that there is some percentage of domestic terrorism proves my point, no? Even if only one side has started taking action from their threats, eventually the other side will have to respond. I already heard about Antifa, and the clashes they have against the others, I know how it went from protests, to fistfights, to fighting with with batons and other melee weapons. From my perspective, I already see a cycle of violence, with escalation, even if still simmering under the surface.

        Currently things are relatively quiet because most people are too busy trying to survive in the economy. However if that falters, and things start going south, more and more people may turn to extremism on both sides of the divide. Especially if they blame "the other side" for stalling their attempts at reform.

  • (Score: 4, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 17 2018, @10:33AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 17 2018, @10:33AM (#749895)

    I disagree with the statement that people will treat you differently. Who cares? If someone cares, then they are a buster. I don't care if you voted for Hillary or Trump. Obviously some maniacs do.

    There are very partisan districts, counties and states here in the US. You may not think it matters, but it matters to more than half the country. And don't think husbands in less-than-progressive households don't tell their wives how to vote, so this info can lead to instances of domestic violence.

    Pro tip: just because you don't care about something, or don't think it's important, doesn't mean untold millions feel the same way. Lack of awareness of what is going on in your community, county, state and/or country is how bullshit claims of "fake news" go unchallenged. Ignorance and indifference is nothing to crow about.

  • (Score: 1, Redundant) by VLM on Wednesday October 17 2018, @11:59AM (1 child)

    by VLM (445) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday October 17 2018, @11:59AM (#749924)

    Who cares? If someone cares, then they are a buster.

    Its acceptable behavior now-a-days to hit someone with a bike lock trying to kill them, and not get punished if you're on the "correct" political side. Vandalism and street crime is cherished by some.

    We're not too far from gunfire in the streets. And the backlash from leftist violence will eventually resemble kyrstalnacht or whatever the German pronunciation.

    So walking around wearing a yellow star of david or whatever the right wing version is (wearing new balance sneakers and making the "OK" symbol? simply not visually being a degenerate?) are both inadvisable for non-wanna-be-martyrs on both sides.

    • (Score: 5, Informative) by DeathMonkey on Wednesday October 17 2018, @05:54PM

      by DeathMonkey (1380) on Wednesday October 17 2018, @05:54PM (#750052) Journal

      We're not too far from gunfire in the streets.

      We're well past that point. It's just the rightwingers doing the shooting, though, so you ignore it.

  • (Score: 3, Informative) by Nuke on Wednesday October 17 2018, @12:24PM

    by Nuke (3162) on Wednesday October 17 2018, @12:24PM (#749933)

    I disagree with the statement that people will treat you differently. Who cares?... I don't care if you voted for Hillary or Trump. Obviously some maniacs do.

    That post is inane. Partly self-contradicting partly and self answering. "Who cares?" he asks and then answers himself : "maniacs". He disagrees that people will treat you differently but then says those "maniacs" will. Now that Europe is flooded with immigrants with little tradition of political tolerance (paradoxically, it is political "tolerance" that has allowed them here at all), be careful what beliefs you express publically because you could get beaten up for it if identified, and the culprits only need to play the race card to get the courts and media on their side. There are increasing powers against "hate speech" (eg https://businessesgrow.com/2018/01/31/why-you-should-worry-about-europes-new-hate-speech-laws/ [businessesgrow.com] ) by which is meant speech that those in power, including mob power, disagree with, for example questioning whether allowing mass immigration of Muslims is anything but a good thing.

    Tolerance these days is only extended to views that align with those in power and the masses, depending who is involved. Generally, modern society is returning to the medieval concept of heresy as a punishable crime.