With election day at our doorstep, many are worried that Al-Qaeda has some drastic act of terror planned up its sleeve. It is a common belief that terrorists around the globe will attempt to somehow drastically affect the results of the 2016 Presidential Election. A potentially even more relevant concern however lurks upon the horizon this Eve of Election Day.
A much more hidden Act of Terror
According to an article written by Juliette Kayyem, a CNN National Security Analyst, the greatest threat that our country faces tomorrow is that of outside forces tinkering with our election results by hacking the system. Thus it is not by massive acts of terror that the future of our country will be determined by. However, these small and subliminal efforts to destroy/change votes is a realistic and immediate threat.
Can hacking this system be classified as terror?
Yes. And here’s why. Think about the very core of terrorism: Manipulation through fear. That is exactly what is occurring here. According to the article, the actual possibility of any outside source being able to tamper with enough votes to actually have a significant impact in and of itself is slim to none. However, the major implications come from the fear that it instils in the American people. The more a voter can be convinced, that “their vote doesn’t count,” the less likely they are to actually get out to the polls and vote. The ramifications of this are massive. Other countries and/or special interest groups outside of America are faced with the temptation to hold a lot of sway and influence over the American people and this is why I believe that there have been recorded attempts to hack the systems – not because they believe in their ability to outsmart the most intelligent and proactive security systems of the time, but because they believe that they can affectively sow a seed of fear and later reap the benefits.
Conclusion
Don’t let this change your mind! Get out and vote! Every vote counts in this election and every election is the most important election of the time. The future of the Nation is in the people’s hands, what are you going to do with it?