Paper Ballots Key to Election Security

By Michael Blume
Manager, Government and Industry Affairs
American Forest & Paper Association

Our lives’ most precious documents are memorialized on paper. Marriage and birth certificates, deeds, diplomas, family photos and letters from loved ones are all safeguarded on the printed page. Although there are exceptions in this increasingly paperless world, there is an undeniable link between the permanence and tangibility of physical documents and our attachment to them.

Important information belongs on paper and should be shielded from broken hard drives, data breaches and foreign hackers. Paper is personal, permanent, safe and confidential.

The hallmark of our democratic system — the ballot — is rushing into an uncertain digital future. As Americans are becoming aware of the constant threat of election interference from foreign actors, the lack of paper ballots is a clear weakness … (click to read more)