If we really care about voting rights we must install mobile online voting

I’m in Texas now. My wife and I are currently making BBQ flavored kombucha so the locals don’t know we moved from California.

Here’s how I see all this…

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Amongst the firestorm created around Georgia’s new voting law there is a simple argument from the left: if you want more people to vote, make it easier.

There is a simple argument from the right: if you want the people to have faith in the vote make it secure.

There is a simple charge from the left: you are making voting complicated because you believe you can only win if you cheat.

There is a simple charge from the right: you are making voting insecure because you believe you can only win if you cheat.

But all of this is being argued about on truly archaic grounds: early voting, when you can register, if you can get a bottle of water from a campaign rep in line and drop boxes. The most tech forward we get is mail-in voting.

That’s it? That’s what democracy hinges on in 2021? Stamps?

It can’t be. In a society that will send a man to Mars in our lifetime, we have to be able to tech our way out of this. So let’s really throw a chainsaw in the hot tub.

If we really care about reducing the “cost” of voting to low-propensity voters we must institute mobile online voting.

While broadband, desktop and laptop usage differs between racial communities, smartphone usage does not. According to a Pew Research eight-in-ten whites, blacks and hispanics own a smartphone.

Mobile online voting is instant, imagine having a large portion (maybe even a decisive portion) pop up as soon as polls close? No more days or weeks waiting for a count.

Mobile online voting is trustworthy, we already use our smartphones to manage the most precious things in life including money, home and family.

Mobile voting is convenient, there’s no line to your night table in the morning.

So why then have we not heard a push for mobile voting either during the pandemic (when we were trying to keep people inside) or now as we are reconciling the methods put in place then and whatever we are comfortable with going forward?

Because either party knows how it will shake out and both are scared of it.

If the Democrats are so sure that more people voting will benefit them, then why not throw open the floodgates?

What’s the worst that can happen. A sizable portion of the electorate loses faith in the results?

If the Republicans want more transparency, real time analysis of incoming votes is about as ideal as you can get. Estonia has used internet voting for binding elections.

Okay, confession time. Because I have seriously pitched this idea in the past I am well aware of the criticisms. In fact, you’ve probably been shaking your head about them since you clicked on the email. So let’s all say it together. 3… 2… 1…

IT’S HACKABLE!

Yes! Everything is hackable. Including our current one.

A system does not have to be infallible to be functional. In fact, one of the core tenets of information security is the idea that “security through obscurity” is laughable. If you think you are safe because only the “experts” know how a system works it’s probably the most vulnerable to penetration. The best systems are built on extraordinarily clever ideas that are then fact checked by the world. Tested in every possible way. Broken. Rebuilt. Tweaked. Then broken again so the cycle repeats.

Our democracy deserves the world’s leading experts constantly trying to poke holes in our system and making it better, the same kind of thing done for pillars of our society like coffee and pornography.

It gets me thinking, why don’t we have this now? Why don’t we have government paid agents trying to poke holes in our modern system. Machines, paper ballots, mail-in voting, drop boxes… all of it. Why aren’t we rewarding those who find vulnerabilities? And beyond that, why are we not tracking line times, access points and more to ensure voting is available to all who want it? The fact that we don’t have any idea beyond the word of a few vendors on the security of our current vote and Twitter threads on election day is shameful.

So let’s try something bold. Let’s not push for water in lines. Let’s not push for enhanced parchment certification.

Mobile internet voting is our future.

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Beto not running for Governor of Texas

He wants to be in DC, not Austin.

2022.

Cruz v. Beto 2.

Book it.

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Px3Tweets @Px3Tweets

Greatest Constitutional Amendment bracket FINAL! 1st Amendment (Right to free speech, assembly, religion and petition) Vs. 2nd Amendment (Right to bear arms) GO!

Greatest Constitutional Amendment Bracket Final

For the last few weeks on the podcast we’ve whittled down all of the Amendments in bracket format via Twitter vote. This is the final contest and it’s massive.

First Amendment vs. Second Amendment!

Vote now!

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How To Read The News: This Matt Gaetz Thing…

So this is a lesson on keeping things straight. When you are following a developing story, even more if it’s salacious like this one it is very easy to get confused as multiple outlets are covering it in their own way.

So before we get into any kind of editorial bias. Let’s try and sort through the intensely lurid and bizarre tale of Matt Gaetz.

Gaetz is a MAGA Republican who rose to power within the Trump orbit because he did what the 45th President really valued… stuck up for him on television. He is the congressional representative from Florida’s 4th district in the Panhandle.

On Tuesday, Axios reported that Gaetz was eyeing an exit from congress and a job doing what he does best, being on camera, specifically with NewsMax. It’s important to know the timeline since often pieces of information that were reported before a thing become subsumed into the larger story for better or worse. It might mean something, it might not.

Later that same day, The New York Times reported Gaetz was under federal investigation by the Department of Justice on suspicion of engaging in a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl whom he paid to travel with him across state lines. That would violate federal sex trafficking laws.

Gaetz released a statement Tuesday night with an even more explosive charge: yes he is under investigation, no the charges aren’t true and what’s more… this is all part of a extortion attempt by a former Department of Justice employee who wanted $25 million to make this go away.

He also went on Tucker Carlson’s show to make the same claim. It went awkwardly Gaetz repeatedly attempted to pull Tucker into the story, once insinuating that Tucker had a sex crime claim made against him and once saying that the two men went to dinner with Tucker’s wife and Gaetz’ female companion (presumably not the 17-year-old woman referred to by the Times) who was pressured by investigators to give up dirt. Tucker did not seem pleased.

On Wednesday, the Washington Examiner (presumably getting their information from the Gaetz family) laid out the details of the alleged extortion plan. And they are insane. Not only does the letter allegedly sent to the Gaetz family state plainly that a grand jury has been impaneled one 17-year-old girl has testified herself to have received money for sex with Gaetz. So what do the lawyers want money for? They want $25 million to help rescue a former FBI agent who has been imprisoned in Iran since 2007. The alleged letter goes on to state that not only can get help spike the investigation, they can make sure Gaetz is on the flight from Iran with the newly-rescued hostage.

The lawyer at the center of that letter says it’s bogus and only meant to distract from Gaetz’ legal troubles.

And that is the end of what we know or have any evidence of as it results to Gaetz. Everything has either been confirmed or shown to be true by presenting documents.

But it’s not the end of the story and certainly not the end of this stories with Gaetz name in the headlines. For example, we have also found out about Gaetz’ currently imprisoned friend who is allegedly the reason the feds are looking into all this. That may indeed be part of the story, but we will not know for sure until charges are filed.

We’ve also gotten a few stories that are evergreen but now have context since Gaetz is in the news, like for example the fact that he once competed with other Florida state politicians in a fratty sex game where they assigned point values to the women they slept with. CNN reported that Gaetz has shown naked pictures of women he claims to have slept with to his congressional co-workers, including one video where the woman was naked aside from a hula hoop.

Are these details relevant to the truth of if Matt Gaetz is guilty of a sex trafficking crime? No. Are they true? I have no idea.

This is not a value judgement on Gaetz one way or another. But when the story is this bizarre and the details are so raunchy it helps to be able to retrace your steps and remember where you are in the story.

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Hunter Biden admits laptop “certainly” could belong to him

Well that’s nice of him.

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What a difference a week makes! From a pile of boxes to a spare, yet functional living room two time zones away.

See you guys for the feedback email on Wednesday!

- Justin