Saturday, January 31, 2009

Lawmakers like Web votes for troops | Montgomery Advertiser

Lawmakers like Web votes for troops | Montgomery Advertiser:
"In an Associated Press survey of legislators, 63 percent of senators responding said they support the bill that's being pushed by Secretary of State Beth Chapman, while 17 percent said they oppose it and 20 percent are undecided.

In the House, 70 percent of representatives responding said they favor allowing overseas voters, including military personnel in combat areas like Iraq and Afghanistan, to request ballots and cast their votes over the Internet. Seven percent said they oppose the bill, while 23 percent were undecided."

Battle for overseas Korean voters begins : The Hankyoreh

Battle for overseas Korean voters begins : "The National Election Commission is predicting that around 1.34 million of the 2.4 million overseas Korean citizens will be casting their votes. In an opinion survey carried out in June 2007 with 1,000 overseas citizens in seven countries, 60 percent of respondents said they actively intended to vote. The NEC has stated that these are “simply predictions, which we cannot be confident about.”"

Are you on the voters list? - Williams Lake Tribune

Williams Lake Tribune - "Are you on the voters list?
Published: January 30, 2009 7:00 PM

Starting next week, 3.2 million people across the province will be asked to ensure they’re registered to vote as the first major event leading up to this year’s election and referendum on electoral reform."

Wash. considers online voting for overseas voters

Wash. considers online voting for overseas voters:
By RACHEL LA CORTE
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

OLYMPIA, Wash. -- Last year, Washington state residents were able to start registering to vote online. Soon, military and overseas voters may be able to cast their votes the same way.

'This is just the next logical step,' Secretary of State Sam Reed says of his proposal to make it easier for Washingtonians abroad to vote. 'I would like to get to the point where we're able to have them apply to vote online, we would issue them a pin number and they would be able to vote from anywhere in the world.'"

Friday, January 30, 2009

Instant-runoff voting wins a round

Instant-runoff voting wins a round: "A group opposing instant-runoff voting in Minneapolis is pledging to fight on despite a Hennepin County District judge's ruling that allowed the new voting method to go ahead this year.

In a 29-page ruling, the judge rejected a request from the alliance to stop instant-runoff voting, commonly called IRV. In the same ruling, McGunnigle granted a request from the city and FairVote Minnesota to dismiss the alliance's lawsuit."

Pondering the merits of instant-runoff voting | Duluth News Tribune | Duluth, Minnesota

Pondering the merits of instant-runoff voting | Duluth News Tribune | Duluth, Minnesota: "The system is scheduled to be used in Minneapolis municipal elections this year (though opponents say they’ll appeal a recent court ruling allowing it to go ahead), and a petition calling for its use was presented in St. Paul."

Manitoba chiefs call for uniform elections at general assembly - Portage Daily Graphic - Manitoba, CA

Manitoba chiefs call for uniform elections at general assembly - Portage Daily Graphic - Manitoba, CA: "The 64 chiefs passed a resolution at the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs’ General Chiefs Assembly, held at the Keeshkeemaquah Conference Centre on the Long Plain First Nation urban reserve, to come up with a governance leadership code, which would change the way First Nations elections are held, Long Plain Chief Dennis Meeches said.

The new code would call for all First Nations’ elections to be held at the same time, similar to municipal elections in the province, Meeches explained, and would also call for terms of three or four years for chief and councils instead of the two years they serve now."

Bulgaria's NMSP Submits Proposal for Constitutional Amendments

Bulgaria's NMSP Submits Proposal for Constitutional Amendments: "The amendments would mandate the Bulgarian President to merge the two upcoming elections - for the Bulgarian Parliament, and for the European Parliament (EP). A total of 71 MPs have signed the amendments proposal so far."

An error margin of 2% in municipal elections ruled acceptable in Finland | EFFI.org

An error margin of 2% in municipal elections ruled acceptable in Finland | EFFI.org: "A report from the Council of Europe on 1 December 2008 stated that '[t]he Finnish electronic voting did not conclude in a way which satisfies the fundamental principles for democratic elections, in particular the principle of universal suffrage'. The Ministry of Justice performed an internal audit, and reported on 10 December that the audit found deficiencies in project management.

However, on the 29 January 2009, the Helsinki administrative court ruled that the elections satisfied the requirements of the Finnish election law, and therefore the municipal decisions to confirm the election results were not overturned."

Task force sends military voting bill to House | Montgomery Advertiser

Task force sends military voting bill to House | montgomeryadvertiser.com | Montgomery Advertiser:
"Alabama election officials, military members and veterans have put the final touches on what, if passed, will be sweeping legislation to make it easier for Alabama voters in the military to vote overseas."

The proposed legislation, based on a pilot program in Florida, would allow military members to request ballots by e-mail and fax, to return ballots by not just the U.S. mail but by commercial carriers and to vote at kiosks at overseas locations.

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Universal Voter Registration | Brennan Center for Justice

Universal Voter Registration | Brennan Center for Justice:
By Wendy R. Weiser, Michael Waldman and RenĂ©e Paradis – 10/31/08

Click here to download a PDF.

"New election technology and the implementation of a recent federal law in the states make it possible to overcome the challenges with our voter registration system—the single greatest cause of voting prob lems in the United States. We can now truly modernize the voter registration process by upgrading to a system of universal voter registration—a system where all eligible citizens are able to vote because the government has taken the steps to make it possible for them to be on the voter rolls, permanently. Citizens must take responsibility to vote, but government should do its part by clearing away obstacles to their full participation. The current voter registration system—which is governed by a dizzying array of rules and is susceptible to error and manipulation—is the largest source of such obstacles."

India: General elections to be held from April 8 to May 15:

General elections to be held from April 8 to May 15: EC: "London, Jan. 28 (ANI): The Election Commissioner of India, S Y Quraishi, has said that the next general elections will be held between April 8 and May 15 this year.

A general election in India is the largest electoral exercise in the world involving 671 million voters. (ANI)

Helsinki court dismisses electronic voting appeals - NewsRoom Finland

NewsRoom Finland: Helsinki court dismisses electronic voting appeals

29.1.2009 at 11:47

"The Helsinki administrative court on Thursday dismissed appeals about the electronic voting trial carried out in three councils last October but pointed to shortcomings in the planning and execution of the voting system in Karkkila, Kauniainen and Vihti.

The court added that while the instructions provided with the voting machines left something to be desired they were not erroneous."

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Voting Technology The Not-So-Simple Act of Casting a Ballot

Voting Technology - Brookings Institution:
Voting Technology The Not-So-Simple Act of Casting a Ballot

Paul S. Herrnson, Richard G. Niemi, Michael J. Hanmer, Benjamin B. Bederson and Frederick C. Conrad, Brookings Institution Press 2008 c. 215pp.

"Voting difficulties hung over America's presidential election in 2000 like a dark cloud. Passage of the Help America Vote Act in 2002 sparked further interest in the physical act of casting a vote, leading to a number of technological innovations. Voting Technology is the first book to investigate in a scientific and authoritative manner how voters respond to the new equipment."

The Korea Herald : Overseas suffrage

The Korea Herald : The Nation's No.1 English Newspaper: "Overseas suffrage"

Some 3 million 'overseas Koreans' will be able to vote in the next presidential election here under a revision bill which is likely to be passed as early as next month. Promoters of overseas suffrage at the ruling Grand National Party are hailing the forthcoming legislation as 'a step forward toward a global Korea,' giving Koreans living abroad their national identity and a sense of belonging."

Holyrood debates democratically elected health boards » The Journal

Holyrood debates democratically elected health boards » The Journal: "In a move aimed at reducing a perceived “democratic deficit” in the provision of health care, the Scottish Parliament has assented to support the key principles of the Health Boards Bill. ...

...
If passed, the bill would see health boards consisting of a majority of elected members, both local councillors and directly elected officials. This would be achieved by way of elections every four years, using the form of proportional representation known as single transferable vote, and with a reduced voting age of 16.

Before the proposed scheme is rolled out nationwide, at the potential cost of £20m, there will be two pilot elections staged in order to asses its viability. The pilots are to last for a period of up to seven years."

News - South Africa: DA and FF+ challenge overseas vote

News - South Africa: DA and FF+ challenge overseas vote: "Two opposition parties are separately challenging the constitutionality of a section of the Electoral Act which renders thousands of South Africans living abroad unable to vote in the general elections."

Appeal of school board election adjourned - Nova Scotia News - TheChronicleHerald.ca

Appeal of school board election adjourned - Nova Scotia News - TheChronicleHerald.ca: "An appeal of election results for the African-Nova Scotia seat on Chignecto-Central regional school board was adjourned Tuesday, with hints the matter may be resolved.

Shirley Robinson-Levering of Truro, who lost last fall’s school board election by 22 votes, wants the Nova Scotia Supreme Court to declare the results void, claiming the vote wasn’t conducted according to the Education Act."

Vote machine and its printer on trial in NJ - NJ.com

Vote machine and its printer on trial in NJ - NJ.com: "A trial to have the state's electronic voting machines that are used in 18 of the state's 21 counties decommissioned started yesterday. At issue is whether the machines are error-prone and easily hacked, as the plaintiffs argue, or whether they are secure and reliable, as New Jersey elections officials maintain."

Nigerian Federal Court Orders INEC to Allow Nigerians Abroad to Vote

According to this article, a federal court in Nigeria has ordered the electoral commission in Nigeria to put in place, a mechanism which will allow for Nigerians living abroad to vote.

In his considered judgment, delivered on 18th December 2008, Justice Adamu Bello held that since Nigerians living abroad have convinced the court that they are entitled to vote and be voted for, it is the constitutional responsibility of INEC to put in place the "relevant machinery to assist the plaintiffs to vote from abroad."

Nigerian Federal Court Orders INEC to Allow Nigerians Abroad to Vote ! - Nigerian Movies & Nollywood on Naijarules.com

Corporate Securities Law Blog: E-Proxy Rules Effective for All Public Companies

In 2007 the SEC created guidelines for public companies to communicate proxy voting information.  By Jan 1, 2009, all public companies are required to adopt these new guidelines which require companies to post proxy materials on a publicly accessible website.

In addition, there were some guidelines about providing electronic means of casting a proxy vote.

Shareholders must be provided with a method to execute proxies as of the time the Notice is first sent to shareholders, either by providing an electronic voting platform, a toll-free telephone number for voting, or a printable or downloadable proxy card on the website. Such a telephone number may appear on the website, but not on the Notice. A proxy card may not be sent until at least ten calendar days after the date the Notice is first sent unless accompanied or preceded by a copy of the proxy statement and any required annual report sent via the same medium, and must be accompanied by another copy of the Notice.

Corporate Securities Law Blog: E-Proxy Rules Effective for All Public Companies

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

New system, new problems? | Ubyssey Online

New system, new problems? | Ubyssey Online: Condorcet ranks each candidate on each ballot, unlike First-past-thepost.

"This year’s AMS elections, which will take place from January 29 to February 4, will be conducted using the Condorcet ranked-pairs method of voting, a system which is considered to be fairer than the first-past-the-post meth­od used in previous elections. Supporters also hope that the system will promote a greater level of voter engagement while preventing vote-splitting and strategic voting."

Monday, January 26, 2009

The Canadian Press: RCMP probe allegation that wheat board voter list was improperly accessed

The Canadian Press: RCMP probe allegation that wheat board voter list was improperly accessed: "The RCMP said in a news release that it's probing complaints from the NFU alleging that a voters list for the wheat board was improperly accessed and used by unauthorized people."

Peguis deal up in air | Manitoba | News | Winnipeg Sun

Peguis deal up in air | Manitoba | News | Winnipeg Sun: "The issue of whether Peguis First Nation accepts a $127-million land-claim settlement or goes back into negotiations with the federal government remains up in the air.

Not enough band members cast ballots Saturday in a referendum to accept a settlement and relinquish all claims to land at the former St. Peter's reserve -- an area mainly north of Selkirk -- more than a century after the band was moved by the government to its current Interlake location."

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Counties struggle on election costs : Elections : The Rocky Mountain News

Apparently the cost associated with electronic voting booths is very high which is a cause for concern in some of the smaller districts in the US,

The price tag for the 2008 presidential election in Colorado eclipsed the amount spent in 2004, and in one county ran as high as $36.57 per vote.

Primarily, the costs are associated with all the regulations that have been imposed to ‘secure’ the electronic voting machines which include video surveillance, administrative and infrastructure overhead.

The cost of doing internet/telephone voting is peanuts to this.

Counties struggle on election costs : Elections : The Rocky Mountain News

Security Review of Scytl’s Software

I came across this review of Scytl’s evoting software. An interesting read. Dated September 2008.

http://election.dos.state.fl.us/voting-systems/pdf/FinalReportSept19.pdf

Friday, January 23, 2009

Ballot design

I came across this video on YouTube where a professor in the US describes an issue with alleged ‘vote swapping’ during the US election with regard to a piece of equipment from ES&S. He makes a good point about ballot design here and the positioning of names on the ballot.

To quote him, he says that people tend to click names instead of buttons which may be the root cause of this particular issue.

Oscar voting system deciphered - Entertainment News, Oscar News, Media - Variety

Oscar voting system deciphered - Entertainment News, Oscar News, Media - Variety: "An explanation of the nomination process
By TIMOTHY M. GRAY

The Academy uses preferential voting, a system that Australia adopted as early as 1902. The Acad has been using it since 1936.

It’s designed to deal with elections in which there is more than one result (e.g., five best-picture nominees rather than a single presidential winner).
he"

Polskie Radio dla zagranicy - Early elections to avoid political double-work

Polskie Radio dla zagranicy - Early elections to avoid political double-work: "Head of Poland’s European Integration Committee is of the opinion that the next parliamentary elections in Poland should be held in the first half of 2011.

The reason for this would Poland taking over the EU rotating presidency in the second half of that year, while the terms of the House and Senate expire in the autumn."

FOCUS Information Agency

FOCUS Information Agency: "Turnout at parliamentary election might reach 55%: polling agency
22 January 2009 | 16:36 | FOCUS News Agency
Sofia. If the elections for national parliament and European Parliament are held on one date, this will influence the voter turnout for European Parliament, Vasil Tonchev, director of Sova Harris polling agency, said in an interview with Focus News Agency."

Crisis-hit Iceland heads for early election | Reuters

Crisis-hit Iceland heads for early election | Reuters: "REYKJAVIK, Jan 22 (Reuters) - Iceland moved closer to a snap election on Thursday when the foreign minister joined calls for an early vote, while police teargassed demonstrators after anti-government protests turned violent."

Regina lawyer Pedersen enters NDP leadership race

Regina lawyer Pedersen enters NDP leadership race: "REGINA -- Yens Pedersen says he’ll bring a fresh outlook to the provincial NDP leadership race as he takes on a veteran politician vying for the top job.

The 35-year-old Regina lawyer focused on the need for party renewal as he declared his intention to run for party leader — becoming the first to challenge former deputy premier Dwain Lingenfelter, who is returning to provincial politics after a more than eight-year hiatus."

edmontonsun.com - Alberta - Liberals want inquiry into election violations

edmontonsun.com - Alberta - Liberals want inquiry into election violations: "Calgary MLA Kent Hehr, the party's justice critic, made the call yesterday in the wake of a report from Alberta's chief electoral officer who found 16 election violations in 2007 have not proceeded to prosecution by Alberta Justice."

Revealed: the environmental impact of Google searches - Times Online

Revealed: the environmental impact of Google searches - Times Online: "New research lifts lid on links between CO2 emissions and internet searches"

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Business Intelligence Middle East - bi-me.com - The rise of Democracy 2.0: Five reasons why Web 2.0 is changing the face of American politics - News, analysis, reports

Business Intelligence Middle East - bi-me.com - The rise of Democracy 2.0: Five reasons why Web 2.0 is changing the face of American politics - News, analysis, reports: "“As voters massively shift toward the Internet for social interaction, consumer purchasing, and political participation, office-seekers are wisely rushing to establish an online presence and connect with voters on the ground,”"

Problems seen in e-voting overseas - Tech and gadgets- msnbc.com

This article discusses all the problems with voting by phone and internet.  It always baffles me how articles like this fail talk about phantom security concerns with transmitting votes electronically, but fail to see the overwhelming insecurity of the current “mail it in”.

Problems seen in e-voting overseas - Tech and gadgets- msnbc.com

  • Telephone: Voting by telephone presents a number of security challenges, the study concluded. Since a voter couldn't sign the ballot, officials would have to find another way to authenticate the vote, such as using a PIN, or personal identification number, although that could be stolen.

I find it interesting how they compare entering a PIN and signing a ballot both as a means of ‘authenticating’ the vote.  I wonder how long it would take me to sign someone else’s name on a ballot versus how long it would take me to find out what their PIN was…you know, the one that can be stolen.

  • Internet: Voting on a Web page means "a great deal of trust must be placed in the software on the election server to accurately record votes, as there would be no opportunity for voters to directly verify that their ballots have been recorded correctly," the report said. Like e-mail voting systems, a Web-based system also would rely on computer systems outside the control of election officials. "Attacks on these systems, such as voters' computers, could significantly threaten the integrity of elections or the ability of voters to cast ballots," the report added.

Yet somehow the mail systems in other countries are ‘inside’ the control of election officials.

I know this is not the first article like this, and won’t be the last…good grief.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

globeandmail.com: It's time to e-consult our citizens

globeandmail.com: It's time to e-consult our citizens:

It's time to e-consult our citizens

Democracy requires ongoing relationships with Canadians between elections. Our democratic deficit is growing like record U.S. debt levels. Low voter turnouts, eroding trust for elected officials and dismal civic literacy are all symptomatic of a democracy in need of healing. This democratic deficit also encompasses the gap between public desires and decisions that are made.

Stephen Coleman, an e-democracy guru in Britain, often soothes elected officials by reassuring them that most citizens don't want to govern, they just want to be heard. Research shows that citizens feel there is a gap between their desire to participate in consultations and the opportunities they are afforded.

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Victoria News - Your Best source for Community News in Victoria and Esquimalt online

Victoria News - Your Best source for Community News in Victoria and Esquimalt online: "Sides picked for STV issue
Published: January 19, 2009 4:00 PM
Updated: January 19, 2009 4:29 PM

Fair Voting BC, an advocacy group that campaigned for the single transferable vote (STV) system in the 2005 provincial election referendum, has been selected as the official “yes” side representative for the next referendum."

Philippine News -- Manila Standard Today -- Election body chooses semi-electronic voting -- jan20_2009

Philippine News -- Manila Standard Today -- Election body chooses semi-electronic voting -- jan20_2009: "Election body chooses semi-electronic voting

THE Commission on Elections will use the less expensive Optical Mark Reader technology, part manual, part electronic system of voting in 2010 elections, officials said yesterday."

Monday, January 19, 2009

Fortify Software Ends 2008 With Largest Quarter in Company History

This is a new company I haven't yet heard of. At first I thought they were another voting software company, but after visiting their website, it appears that they sell a security analysis applicatoin they they gave away to some states to help them find flaws in their voting software.

Fortify Software Ends 2008 With Largest Quarter in Company History: "Additionally, the company continued its industry-leading work in open source software security, expanding the Java Open Review to include more than 100 projects and releasing its 'Open Source Security Study' on the state of open source software security. Fortify also continued its efforts around e-voting security, with 5 states making use of a free version of its security software to test their electronic voting machines, and with the release of 'Voting in America,' a report on the current state of U.S. voting systems.Additionally, the company continued its industry-leading work in open source software security, expanding the Java Open Review to include more than 100 projects and releasing its 'Open Source Security Study' on the state of open source software security. Fortify also continued its efforts around e-voting security, with 5 states making use of a free version of its security software to test their electronic voting machines, and with the release of 'Voting in America,' a report on the current state of U.S. voting systems."

Friday, January 16, 2009

Condorcet method

Earlier today, Bernie sent out a link to an article that noted that UBC has a need to put together an electronic election that supports the Condorcet method of vote tabulation. He included in his post a link to wikipedia to describe what the method actually is:

Condorcet method - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Our system has a feature that we call preferential voting which allows a voter to rank selections in order of their preference. What the condorcet method is a means of tallying those selections to determine a winner.

Simply put, the method selects a winner between pairs of candidates, for instance selection 'A' and 'B' are compared on all ballots to see how many people liked A more than B and B more than A, not necessarily who picked 'A' or 'B' first on their ballot, just the relative winner between each pair. This is done for all possible pairings on the ballot. Once all ballots have been examined, the Candidate who won the most pairings wins.

Nextgov - Online Voting Closer Than Imagined

Nextgov - Online Voting Closer Than Imagined

This article quotes a spokesperson from Everyone Counts as saying that the US is already doing online voting, never mind 2012. Lori Steele, CEO of Everyone Counts, cites successes in the UK (Swindon 2007) as evidence that the technology is ready.

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Cloud Computing

Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2)

I don't really know a whole lot about cloud computing, but I did some reading today to bring myself up to speed. Lots of articles in the past weeks and months have toted cloud computing as being the next technology to watch.
In general, cloud computing provides a utility based model to infrastructure and software. In effect, one could create a system in minutes that has fault tolerance, diversity and scalability without expending the capital to make it happen. Small organizations could deploy enterprise applications right out of the gates.
It struck me that something like this would be a good way to deploy a certain web based application into Europe and elsewhere without having to forlift the hardware somewhere.