City officials assure security of voter data

Residents have used gum and poi to keep information private

Whether it's invisible tape, staples or invisible tape AND staples, voters will use what they can to seal voter registration cards to protect their sensitive information from being viewed by unauthorized people, election officials say.

"We've seen poi," City Clerk Denise DeCosta chortled.

"We've seen duct tape, we've seen glue, we've seen stickers. You name it," said Glen Takahashi, election administrator for Honolulu. "Whatever they've got around the house. We've even seen bubble gum."

DeCosta and Takahashi say they encourage voters to do what makes them comfortable in returning identifiable information to their office.

"If it works for them, that's OK, so long as you can read the data," DeCosta said.

But these kinds of actions, they say, also show an increasing concern among voters about the security of their sensitive information, such as Social Security numbers and birth dates, being kept by government agencies and other entities.

"We want to reassure the public that we are safeguarding the information they share with us to exercise their voting rights," DeCosta said. "We want to let them know that when it comes to voting information, that when it's turned into us, we watch for it, we watch out for them."

The election officials say the concern by the voting public is understandable when identity theft is growing and in light of recent reports of the theft of personal data of 26.5 million veterans. A laptop containing the information was stolen from the home of a U.S. Veteran Affairs Department employee.

Also, the state reported last month that sensitive information for 40,000 people -- including government employees and their dependents -- had been illegally reproduced.

Internet sites are also rife with talk about the vulnerability of the election process to identity thieves.

Then, last year, someone broke into the City Clerk's Office and stole a computer -- although DeCosta said it contained no personal data.

"It forces you to re-evaluate, look at all your practices," Takahashi said. "It makes you think, Where are our weak links?"

Periodic questions from voters about the security of sensitive information have cropped up in recent days after voter information cards for 420,000 registered voters on Oahu were mailed.

"People are asking the question now because the yellow cards are coming out. That seems to trigger that concern, especially those who aren't familiar with (the card)," DeCosta said.

Both Takahashi and DeCosta said that while the office had a good security system in place, improvements have been made to beef up security both procedurally and physically.

"A lot of it comes down to practices, right? We would not put the voters' files on a laptop and take it home or anything like that," Takahashi said.

An alarm system is being installed, and closed-circuit cameras are also being considered.

DeCosta said personal information is not kept in plain view on desks, and all sensitive documents are locked up at the end of the day.

No sensitive information is kept on computers in the office, either. Instead, it is kept in another location on the city's mainframe computer, which is guarded by security officers 24 hours a day.

Security measures and training will also be implemented in the absentee voting process and for those who collect voter registration information.

"A lot of it is in internal," Takahashi said. "It's the stuff that people don't see, and so they wonder, 'Gee, I wonder what's happening behind that wall.' And so we wanted to reassure the public that we do have procedures and practices. We don't want people to be discouraged because they fear their information is not secure."

But Takahashi said the office has to also balance security with accessibility to the voting registration process.

"We could make things so secure where the only way someone could register to vote was come down to our office in City Hall, provide five forms of identification, but then no one would do it," he said.

He said there are those who are not comfortable with the government keeping that kind of information in a database, but the information is necessary to protect the integrity of the election process.

Takahashi and DeCosta said voters need not return the yellow voter card if the information on the card has not changed. Those who need to update their information do not have to use the card, but if they do, they can return the card in a sealed envelope either by mail or in person if they have concerns. The voter registration deadline for the primary election is Aug. 24.