Communication performed without the use of electrical wires between source and destination. Wireless systems include cellphones, wireless LAN, Bluetooth, UWB, RFID and even infrared (IrDA and UFIR) systems. Wireless systems often exhibit poor security properties in that it is easy to intercept or jam their signals and encryption may be weak or nonexistent. It may also be possible to inject spurious signals (e.g. votes) with suitable equipment and mount a denial of service attack. Even with encrypted signals it may be possible by dictionary attack or other mechanism to infer the contents of communications (e.g. voter's choices) without literally reading them. There seems to be no reason at all to use wireless in voting systems, and some states have made it flatly illegal: "A vote tabulating system must: ... (d) Not use wireless communications in any way." Wash. Admin. Code §434-335-040(3). Likewise Va. Code §24.2-625.2. Wireless devices are also forbidden in New York. N.Y. Election Laws (consol.) §7-202(1)(t). Wireless has been proposed to connect voting machines to accessible audio headsets for the disabled, but one wonders what's wrong with the vastly more secure traditional wired headset. Under the VVSG, are not permitted to 2007 ELECTRONIC DEVICES harbor wireless technology.
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Communication performed without the use of electrical wires between source and destination. Wireless systems include cellphones, wireless LAN, Bluetooth, UWB, RFID and even infrared (IrDA and UFIR) systems. Wireless systems often exhibit poor security properties in that it is easy to intercept or jam their signals and encryption may be weak or nonexistent. It may also be possible to inject spurious signals (e.g. votes) with suitable equipment and mount a denial of service attack. Even with encrypted signals it may be possible by dictionary attack or other mechanism to infer the contents of communications (e.g. voter's choices) without literally reading them. There seems to be no reason at all to use wireless in voting systems, and some states have made it flatly illegal: "A vote tabulating system must: ... (d) Not use wireless communications in any way." Wash. Admin. Code §434-335-040(3). Likewise Va. Code §24.2-625.2. Wireless devices are also forbidden in New York. N.Y. Election Laws (consol.) §7-202(1)(t). Wireless has been proposed to connect voting machines to accessible audio headsets for the disabled, but one wonders what's wrong with the vastly more secure traditional wired headset. Under the VVSG, are not permitted to 2007 ELECTRONIC DEVICES harbor wireless technology.
Cite this term
Election Security Glossary. (2026). Wireless. In Election Security Glossary. Retrieved August 21, 2026, from https://electionsecurityglossary.com/glossary/wireless
Sources
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High consensus
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Multi-source
03
High consensus
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Multi-source
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