Nevada’s electronic voting system, EASE, has been praised for making voting more accessible to military and overseas voters, as well as those with disabilities and residents of reservations. However, recent revelations show that the state may be using an honor system to verify voters’ eligibility, raising concerns about the system’s security.

Secretary of State Francisco Aguilar’s office admitted that voters using the EASE system must simply “affirm and declare” their eligibility. While voters are required to provide personal information like Social Security numbers, this only verifies their identity, not whether they qualify for the specific voting program.

Security experts from UC Berkeley have warned that internet voting systems are prone to fraud and hacking without strong verification measures. They noted that the current system leaves Nevada’s online voting process vulnerable to abuse.

The American Association for the Advancement of Science has also voiced concerns, saying online voting remains too insecure to be widely adopted. They cited vulnerabilities in voter authentication, which could allow ineligible individuals to cast ballots.

Nevada officials maintain that the EASE system is secure, but with no clear method to verify eligibility, many are left questioning how much trust should be placed in the program.

As other states look into expanding online voting, Nevada’s struggles with ensuring voter eligibility serve as a cautionary tale.