This week on A Civil Assessment we meet the award-winning election journalist Lulu Friesdat.

T.J. and Lulu discuss her history reporting on elections, her documentary “Holler Back” about voters who did not vote in 2004, the annual tech conference DEF CON where hackers broke into election machines in under 2 hours, bipartisan election security, the Wisconsin, Georgia, and Florida recounts, and more.

Lulu walks us through how hackers easily hacked a number of different election machines, much of which was made easier due to simple passwords (such as “ABCDEF”) and lack of encryption. She recommends voting via paper, in order to secure your vote!

Watch Lulu’s video of hackers at DEF CON here, check out her “Holler Back” website and GoFundMe.

Lulu Friesdat is an Emmy award-winning journalist whose many news assignments include producing election coverage for MSNBC, editing with the CBS Evening News and Good Morning America, and  writing for Salon, and Alternet.

She’s been reporting on problems with U.S. elections since 2008, when she received a Best Documentary award for directing her first feature-length documentary, Holler Back: Voting in an American Town.

A two-time recipient of the Edward R. Murrow award, Friesdat has been interviewed on radio and television shows including Writer’s Voice and Connect the Dots. You can follow her on Twitter @LuluFriesdat.