Is a no vote on AFIS a useful signal, a waste of time, or a dangerous mistake? (Or something else?)
#AFIS (Automated Fingerprint ID System) is on the #Seattle ballot, without organized opposition.[1] In 2018, it moved to "a cloud based system." [2] There's relatively little on what that is or how it's secured. [3] I've never heard of the Federal Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) policy. The #ACLU raises questions about the system [4], and the Stranger urges voting against it, but [3] says "The elimination of AFIS funding would result in the reduction or elimination of technology and staff for arrest identifications and forensic investigations. A city’s options would be to fund its own staff and services, contract with another agency, or rely on WSP’s identification services." and I'm not sure that's going to result in either better security or privacy.
[1] https://ballotpedia.org/Washington_2025_local_ballot_measures
[2] https://www.rentonreporter.com/northwest/fingerprint-id-levy-to-go-before-king-county-voters-in-april-special-election/
[3] https://kingcounty.gov/en/dept/sheriff/about-king-county/about-sheriff-office/about-kcso/afis
[4] https://www.thestranger.com/stranger-election-control-board/2025/04/18/80019769/vote-no-on-king-county-proposition-1