Elections, elections: buy a vote for 50 euros in Bulgaria - the European magazine ~ Cafebabel

Elections, elections: buy a vote for 50 euros in Bulgaria - the European magazine ~ Cafebabel:

That's how much a vote can be worth in some areas of Bulgaria. Shortly after the country’s entry into the EU, in the 2007 national election, the problem was so prevalent in local elections that Brussels became alarmed.

How it works

Cutthroat businessmen can ‘make’ employees vote for them either by promising them a raise or threatening them with demotion. Individuals not directly on the payroll can be bought fairly easily from anywhere between five to fifty euros, depending on the wealth level of the local population, says Vanya Kashukeeva-Nusheva, programme coordinator for Transparency International in Sofia. These can then prove their vote by taking a mobile phone picture of their filled-in ballot. Or, the vote-buyer may provide the individual with a filled-in ballot, in exchange for an empty ballot to be brought back on election day and eventual payment.

...

2 ballots cost woman $1,000 plus probation - The Columbus Dispatch

The Columbus Dispatch : 2 ballots cost woman $1,000 plus probation:

A Gahanna woman pleaded guilty yesterday to voter fraud after casting ballots twice in November's election, once under her own name and once under her daughter's.

Scytl on the Advisory Board of a project for the U.S. Elections Assistance Commission

SCYTL. Secure Electronic Voting (e-voting). News.: Scytl on the Advisory Board of a project for the U.S. Elections Assistance Commission

Scytl has been invited to join the Advisory Board of a leading voting security research project for the U. S. Elections Assistance Commission (EAC). The objective of the project is to develop a risk assessment framework to evaluate voting systems security in the United States. This project is led by Prof. Alec Yasinsac from the University of South Alabama and its Advisory Board is formed by voting experts, academia and election officials from across the United States.

France awards a contract to Scytl to offer Internet voting to its overseas citizens

SCYTL. Secure Electronic Voting (e-voting). News.: France awards a contract to Scytl to offer Internet voting to its overseas citizens

The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs has selected Scytl, in partnership with Atos Origin, to offer a secure Internet voting platform to the French citizens living overseas. 310,000 French voters residing in Africa and America will be able to cast votes over the Internet to elect their representatives to the Assemblée des Français de l’Etranger (AFE) from May 20 to June 4, 2009. Poll-site voting will be held on June 7, 2009. The AFE will directly elect 12 Senators who will represent the French living overseas. This is a high-profile project in France in which Scytl has been selected because of the security, reliability, auditability and trust. The Internet voting platform will be available 24/7 to cover the jet lag between the continents. In a second phase of the project, the platform will be used by over 1 million French voters living overseas.

Scytl participates in the first Internet voting election for a U.S. public sector entity

SCYTL. Secure Electronic Voting (e-voting). News.: Scytl participates in the first Internet voting election for a U.S. public sector entity

Scytl’s Internet voting solution Pnyx has been successfully used to execute elections for the Board of Supervisors of the King Conservation District (KCD) in the State of Washington. During the election over 1,200,000 voters were able to cast their ballots over the internet, in a secure and user-friendly manner, from voting kiosks distributed across the County. The turnout of the election significantly increased compared to the previous year and voter feedback was extremely positive. This project was carried out in cooperation with Election Trust and was the first public sector entity election to use Internet voting kiosks in the U.S.

Overseas voting bill clears first hurdle | Montgomery Advertiser

Overseas voting bill clears first hurdle | montgomeryadvertiser.com | Montgomery Advertiser:

A bill to expand voting options for military and overseas voters made it through its first legislative committee Wednesday with no major changes.

The bill is championed by Secretary of State Beth Chapman and the Military and Overseas Voting Task Force that she chairs.

The bill, HB711, would establish five methods of requesting ballots -- mail, e-mail, fax, secure transmission (kiosks) and commercial carriers. Ballots could be returned in four ways -- mail, fax, secure electronic transmission and commercial carriers.

House panel OKs some overseas Internet voting - WZTV FOX 17/Nashville

WZTV FOX 17/Nashville: House panel OKs some overseas Internet voting
March 25, 2009 15:28 EDT

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) -- An Alabama House Committee has approved a bill that would allow some Alabama residents overseas to cast their ballots over secure Internet connections.

The bill also allows Secretary of State Beth Chapman to test such a system in the 2010 state elections. Chapman said the system would first be tested at sites overseas where there is a large U.S. military presence like Heidelberg, Germany or Okinawa, Japan.

Ask the President Praises Obama for New Online Initiative | CommonDreams.org

Ask the President Praises Obama for New Online Initiative | CommonDreams.org:

WASHINGTON - March 25 - Hours before President Obama's second press conference on Tuesday night, the White House announced that it will convene the first transparent, democratically accountable online town hall in American history. The new experiment enables citizens to submit questions, vote on questions from citizens around the country, and watch the President "answer some of the most popular questions" by video on Thursday. The Ask The President coalition, which launched an online voting portal and urged the White House to take citizen questions at presidential press conferences, welcomed Obama's "Open for Questions" initiative.

10 firms secure poll automation bid documents - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos

10 firms secure poll automation bid documents - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos:

MANILA, Philippines—Ten groups have secured bid documents for the P11.3 billion poll automation project of the Commission on Elections (Comelec), an official said Wednesday.

CIA expert: Electronic voting not secure - Americas - MiamiHerald.com

CIA expert: Electronic voting not secure - Americas - MiamiHerald.com:

WASHINGTON -- The CIA, which has been monitoring foreign countries' use of electronic voting systems, has reported apparent vote-rigging schemes in Venezuela, Macedonia and Ukraine and a raft of concerns about the machines' vulnerability to tampering.

Do electronic voting machines improve the voting process? Voting Machines - ProCon.org

Voting Machines - ProCon.org:

Do electronic voting machines improve the voting process?

"This site presents in a simple, nonpartisan pro-con format, responses to the core question 'Do electronic voting machines improve the voting process?' We have divided questions about the topic into the issues and sub-issues listed below. ..."

Bulgaria Parliament Rejects Electronic Voting - Novinite.com - Sofia News Agency

Bulgaria Parliament Rejects Electronic Voting: Bulgaria Parliament Rejects Electronic Voting - Novinite.com - Sofia News Agency:

The majority in the Bulgarian Parliament rejected Wednesday the idea of introducing electronic voting in 2010.

The idea belongs to the Bulgarian opposition, but one of the currently ruling parties and member of the tri-party coalition - National Movement for Stability and Progress (NMSP) was in favor of the idea. The NMSP votes, however, proved insufficient to carry the electronic voting proposal.

Alabama Military and Overseas Voting Task Force Report

Military & Overseas Voting Task Force Executive Order 40 - PDF
www.sos.alabama.gov/downloads/movtf/taskforcereport.pdf

Oregon steps closer to online voter registration

Oregon steps closer to online voter registration:

SALEM - The Oregon House voted Friday to allow Oregonians to register to vote online.

House Bill 2386 would allow eligible voters with valid Oregon driver's licenses or identification cards to register to vote online through a secure connection on the Oregon Secretary of State's Web site.

Click of the mouse may sign up new voters - The Denver Post

Click of the mouse may sign up new voters - The Denver Post:

House bill 1160 would allow people to register to vote, request a mail-in ballot or change their voting address online through what bill proponents say will be a highly secure website run by the Colorado secretary of state's office. The bill would not allow people to cast votes online.

Military voting report released - Montgomery Advertiser

Military voting report released | montgomeryadvertiser.com | Montgomery Advertiser:

Secretary of State Beth Chapman released a report to Gov. Bob Riley and members of the Legislature today from the Military and Overseas Voting Task Force formed last year. The report included legislation which has since been tweaked and introduced in the House by Representative Jimmy Martin of Clanton.

Philippines - Comelec sees more firms buying bid documents - INQUIRER.net,

Comelec sees more firms buying bid documents - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos:

MANILA, Philippines—More firms are expected to purchase bid documents for the P11.3-billion automated election project in 2010, a spokesperson from the poll body said Monday.

Commission on Elections spokesperson James Jimenez said Hart and ES/S from the United States, DRS of the United Kingdom, Bharat of India and Gilat Solutions of Israel are also expected to secure the bid documents, as the March 25 deadline nears for bidders.

Philippines: Arroyo signs poll automation bill | ABS-CBN News Online Beta

Arroyo signs poll automation bill | ABS-CBN News Online Beta:

President Arroyo on Monday signed into law the P11.3-billion supplemental budget for the full automation of the 2010 elections.

With the signing of the law, Press Secretary Cerge Remonde said the next step would be to ensure that the procurement of the election automation machines pass without any hitches the test of full transparency.

TheStar.com | Ontario | June 27 vote for Tory leader

TheStar.com | Ontario | June 27 vote for Tory leader:

The race will be decided using a one-member-one-vote system with Tories casting preferential ballots in all 107 Ontario ridings on June 21 and June 25.

Ballot boxes will be sealed and opened in Markham on June 27. Riding association presidents from the 107 constituencies will then read aloud the tabulated results in a move designed to give the event the excitement of a U.S. presidential nominating convention.

Kentucky e-voting fraud manipulated voters, not machines - Ars Technica

Kentucky e-voting fraud manipulated voters, not machines - Ars Technica:

Six people have been indicted in a Kentucky scandal that involves rigging an election by manipulating vote totals in electronic voting machines. But the folks allegedly behind the scam relied not on high-tech hacking skills, but on old-fashioned southern charm.

Gormley rules out e-voting - The Irish Times - Mon, Mar 23, 2009

Gormley rules out e-voting - The Irish Times - Mon, Mar 23, 2009:

MINISTER FOR the Environment John Gormley has said it is “inconceivable” that the State’s €52 million electronic voting machines will ever be used.

Mr Gormley, the Green Party leader, yesterday confirmed that he had written to party colleague Mary White this week informing the Carlow-based TD that it would cost €28 million to make the voting machines (which have been in storage for more than three years) suitable for use.

8 plead not guilty in Ky. election-rigging case - The Associated Press

The Associated Press: 8 plead not guilty in Ky. election-rigging case:

An eastern Kentucky judge, school superintendent and county clerk have pleaded not guilty in federal court a day after being indicted on charges they bribed voters in a scheme to rig several elections.

Successful Electronic Voting Event Delivers New NDP Leader for Ontario

Successful Electronic Voting Event Delivers New NDP Leader for Ontario:

Intelivote Systems Inc. (ISI) provided their innovative electronic voting technology to members of the Ontario New Democratic Party (ONDP) at a Leadership Convention held recently in Hamilton, Ontario.

Sofia: Parliament to vote amendments in election legislation - FOCUS Information Agency

FOCUS Information Agency:

Parliament to vote amendments in election legislation

All of the bills will be presented for considering and voting on first reading in the National Assembly next week.

Bowen settles voting machine lawsuit - Capitol Alert:

Capitol Alert: Bowen settles voting machine lawsuit:

Secretary of State Debra Bowen said today the state will get $3.25 million after she settled her department's lawsuit against Election Systems & Software Inc., the electronic voting machine manufacturer.

Elections company could face more problems - Times-Standard Online

Elections company could face more problems - Times-Standard Online:

Premier Elections Solutions' problems with the California secretary of state may only be just beginning.

Premier, the company formerly known as Diebold that created the flawed version of election software that led to almost 200 ballots being dropped from Humboldt County's final November election results, was the subject of a public hearing Tuesday called by Secretary of State Debra Bowen.

Three firms buy Comelec bid documents - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos

Three firms buy Comelec bid documents - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos:

Three companies have bought the terms of reference-request for proposal (TOR/RFP) from the Commission on Elections (Comelec), documents from the poll body showed.

These companies are Syrex Corp./Scantron, Avante International Technology Inc. and Smartmatic through local partner Total Information Technology (TIM), according to documents of the Bidding and Awards Committee (BAC) secretariat.

The TOR/RFP is being offered to interested bidders from March 18 to 25.

Editorial - Still Broken - NYTimes.com

Editorial - Still Broken - NYTimes.com:

In last year’s presidential election, as many as three million registered voters were not allowed to cast ballots and millions more chose not to because of extremely long lines and other frustrating obstacles. Ever since the 2000 election in Florida, the serious flaws in the voting system have been abundantly clear. More than eight years later, Congress must finally deliver on its promise of electoral reform.

Grimsby halts decision on vote-by-mail for public input - NiagaraThisWeek.com:

NiagaraThisWeek.com: News: Story: Grimsby halts decision on vote-by-mail for public input:

The answer is in the mail.

Grimsby Council is looking to hear from residents on how they want to vote in the 2010 municipal election.

Diebold Admits Systemic Audit Log Failure; State Vows Inquiry | Wired.com

Diebold Admits Systemic Audit Log Failure; State Vows Inquiry | Threat Level from Wired.com:

Premier Election Solutions (formerly Diebold Election Systems) admitted in a state hearing Tuesday that the audit logs produced by its tabulation software miss significant events, including the act of someone deleting votes on election day.

The company acknowledged that the problem exists with every version of its tabulation software.

Electronic Voting Flaw Eyed by California - Government Technology

Electronic Voting Flaw Eyed by California:

The California Secretary of State's Office held a public hearing Tuesday to gather testimony about a software flaw in electronic voting systems that erased 197 vote-by-mail ballots in the Nov. 4, 2008, general election in Humboldt County, Calif.

Online ballots hike voter turnout | Ubyssey Online

Online ballots hike voter turnout | Ubyssey Online:

Students’ unions across the country are moving to electronic balloting with various levels of improved voter turnout.

Both the University of Alberta and the University of Ottawa implemented e-voting for the first time this year with an in­crease in voter turnout at both institutions.

Electronic voting - The Irish Times - Tue, Mar 17, 2009

Electronic voting - The Irish Times - Tue, Mar 17, 2009:

THE GOVERNMENT finds itself in a deep hole because of the purchase and storage of thousands of electronic voting machines. It should stop digging. What had seemed like a good idea, way back in 1999, has turned out to be an unmitigated disaster. The initial waste of public money on the purchase of this dangerously insecure system has been compounded by the establishment of long-term leases of up to 30 years for the storage of machines in controlled environments.

E-voting a distant reality - ITWeb

ITWeb :E-voting a distant reality:

South Africans should not expect online voting until the system proves successful internationally, says the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC).

The electoral body re-iterates it will not introduce online voting for the 22 April elections, or the 2011 local government elections – but that it will “get there one day”.

Anger over call to axe blind voting trial - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Anger over call to axe blind voting trial - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation):

The Human Rights Commissioner says he is hurt and angry that a federal parliamentary committee has recommended the Government scrap electronic voting for blind people.

There was a trial of electronic assistance for blind voters at the last election, which meant they could cast a secret ballot for the first time.

But the Electoral Matters Committee says it is too expensive to continue with the trial.

Dump ADF e-voting, committee recommends - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Dump ADF e-voting, committee recommends - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation):

A Federal Parliamentary Committee has recommended scrapping remote electronic voting for Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel serving overseas.

Election for City Schools’ Community Councils Moving Online - NYTimes.com

Election for City Schools’ Community Councils Moving Online - NYTimes.com:

"You may not know it yet, but next month New York City will conduct what election officials are billing as the first exclusively online public election in the United States."

Elected health boards get go-ahead in Scotland - eGov monitor

eGov monitor - A Policy Dialogue Platform | Promoting Better Governance:

Elected health boards get go-ahead in Scotland

Everyone over the age of 16 will be able to participate in health board elections under Scottish Government plans unanimously approved today by Parliament.

The Health Boards (Membership and Elections) Bill was passed after a Stage Three Parliamentary debate.

It means for the first time members of the public will be able to play an active part in the decisions made by health boards, which in 2009-10 will spend a record £8.64 billion of taxpayers' money.

Macedonia Stages Most Complex Election Ever :: BalkanInsight.com

Macedonia Stages Most Complex Election Ever :: BalkanInsight.com:

The voting process in Macedonia's presidential and local election to be held on March 22 - with a likely second round on April 5 - will be the most complex ever staged in Macedonia’s democratic history, the head of the State’s Election Commission said on Thursday.

The situation will be most confusing in the capital Skopje where the voters will have to cast five different ballots in five different boxes, for Head of State, for mayor of Skopje, for Skopje city councilors, for a municipal mayor and for municipal councilors, ...

Illinois - Bill to Allow Voting Online Advances in Legislature - Galesburg Radio 14...WGIL

Galesburg Radio 14...WGIL:

Bill to Allow Voting Online Advances in Legislature
You shouldn't have to go out into the cold to cast a vote, according to State Rep. Lou Lang (D-Skokie). He's sponsoring a bill that would set up a study of Internet and post card voting in Illinois. He says tests in Arizona and Oregon have gone well, with high turnout.

H.B. 85 has passed the House Elections and Campaign Reform Committee, 7-0.

EVMs now have timers to record your vote-India-The Times of India

EVMs now have timers to record your vote-India-The Times of India:

CHENNAI: They don't just record your votes anymore. In the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, electronic
voting machines (EVMs) will also keep track of the time of your vote.

The clock is built into the control unit of an EVM, says Amol Newaskar, general manager, Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), Bangalore, which is one of the two public sector companies authorized by the Election Commission to manufacture EVMs.

The clock records the time at which voting begins and also gives the hourly voting percentage without giving details about how many votes a candidate has polled.

Nepali Election Commission unveils five year strategic plan

ReliefWeb » Document » Nepali Election Commission unveils five year strategic plan:

According to Friday's The Rising Nepal, the commission has prepared the strategic plan by learning from weaknesses and successes of the past elections, especially the April 10 Constituent Assembly (CA) elections, held last year.

According to the daily, the strategic plan includes: using electronic voting machines, accessibility of wheel-chair to the voting centers, managing mobile voting system in the hospitals and elderly citizen center, conducting study to include the votes of non-residents Nepalese, issuing the voters' identity cards with their photos and to achieve participation of two thirds of population in the voting.

Election integrity with electronic voting machines - The Denver Post, Opinion

Election integrity with electronic voting machines - The Denver Post:

"It is unfortunate that the commission relied on the testimony of a vocal minority that opposes the use of electronic voting equipment rather than considering the testimony of county clerks who have worked with the equipment and can verify the accuracy and reliability of it."

Prior to the 2008 election, county clerks across the state advocated for electronic voting equipment and helped defeat a bill that called for all-paper ballot elections.

In my view, the commission relied on flawed evidence to support its opinion. The reviews of electronic voting systems conducted by California, Ohio and Colorado neglected to include current election administration procedures that mitigate perceived threats.

In each of these states, the effort was solely focused on an assessment of the electronic voting within a "laboratory setting." That is not realistic."

Vote-by-mail set to return to Grimsby in 2010 - NiagaraThisWeek.com

NiagaraThisWeek.com: News: Story: Vote-by-mail set to return to Grimsby in 2010:

The Town of Grimsby will bring the ballot box to the voter's mailbox for the 2010 election.

Despite concerns about security, duplicated ballots, rejected ballots and more in the 2006 municipal election, the Finance and Administration Committee has approved a motion to utilize the vote-by-mail method during the 2010 municipal election.

Santa Barbara, CA - City leaders OK vote-by-mail election - Daily Sound

Daily Sound:

City leaders OK vote-by-mail election

Santa Barbara city leaders voted to focus this November’s municipal election on vote-by-mail ballots, essentially cutting down the number of polling places to fewer than 10.

Philippines: Next on poll agenda: Internet voting, early ARMM elections - BusinessWorld Online

BusinessWorld Online: Next on poll agenda: Internet voting, early ARMM elections:

THE COMMISSION on Elections (Comelec) will next lobby for congressional approval of proposals on absentee voting via the Internet and early elections in one region, following the passage last week of the supplemental budget bill for poll automation.

Comelec Commissioner Nicodemo T. Ferrer said in an interview on the sidelines of a press conference on Thursday that Web-based voting can facilitate elections for absentee voters.

Bulgaria: Electronic voting has to be provided at the next elections - FOCUS Information Agency

FOCUS Information Agency:

Electronic voting has to be provided at the next elections: rightists

United Democratic Forces /UtDF/ deposed the proposal for electronic voting at the elections. This is what Union of Democratic Forces /UDF/ leader Martin Dimitrov said in the National Assembly during the presenting of draft resolution, FOCUS News Agency reporter informs.

“Change in the election legislation is late and the triple coalition is responsible for it. UDF and UtDF presented a draft resolution for electronic voting,” Dimitrov said.

In his words young people, electors in foreign countries and electors with specific physical needs who cannot reach the polling stations will be attracted. “Using electronic voting is as secure and reliable as the ballot papers,” Dimitrov said.

insciences.org - Computer scientists deploy web-based secure, verifiable voting system

insciences.org - Computer scientists deploy web-based secure, verifiable voting system:

Computer scientists affiliated with the Center for Research on Computation and Society (CRCS), based at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), in collaboration with scientists at the Université Catholique de Louvain (UCL) in Belgium, deployed the first practical, web-based implementation of a secure, verifiable voting system for the presidential election held at UCL earlier this week.

Called Helios (http://www.heliosvoting.org/), the system was developed by Ben Adida, a fellow at CRCS and an instructor/researcher at the Children’s Hospital Informatics Program, Harvard Medical School. Professors Jean-Jacques Quisquater and Olivier Pereira and Ph.D. student Olivier de Marneffe at UCL worked closely with the UCL Election Commission to integrate Helios into the University’s infrastructure, implement UCL’s custom weighted tallying system, and optimize the verification tools for the election size.

California finds e-voting software had errors, data deletion functions

California finds e-voting software had errors, data deletion functions:

A report released on Monday by California's secretary of state, Debra Bowen, explains how nearly 200 votes were deleted from the official results for Humboldt County during November's presidential election, and identifies several problems with the e-voting technology from Premier Election Solutions, which was used by the county.

Among the problems identified in the report (PDF document) is one that allows operators of some e-voting machines from Premier, a Diebold subsidiary formerly called Diebold Elections Systems, to delete crucial audit logs that, under federal standards, are supposed to be stored permanently on the systems.

Brazil fires governors in election fraud crackdown | Reuters

Brazil fires governors in election fraud crackdown | Markets | US Markets | Reuters:

A Brazilian court on Wednesday stripped a state governor of his job for buying votes, its second such ruling in two weeks, as the world's fourth-largest democracy cracks down on election fraud.

Another five Brazilian governors face similar charges and could be forced out of office.

Ontario NDP are lugging a ball and chain - TheSpec.com - Opinions

TheSpec.com - Opinions - Ontario NDP are lugging a ball and chain:

This is not a delegate-driven convention.

Under the party's new one- member, one vote system, every card-carrying member is now entitled to vote for the leader of their choice.

Those votes can be cast online, by phone, by mail-in ballot, or the old fashioned way, on the floor of the Hamilton Convention Centre.

All the results will then be weighted to a total of 75 per cent of the votes, with the remaining 25 per cent given to organizations affiliated with the party, primarily labour unions.

Regardless of how complicated it seems or how many ballots it takes, we should know by early Saturday evening who the fearless new leader is.

World Bulletin [ Bulgarian prosecutor calls for end to vote-buying ]

World Bulletin [ Bulgarian prosecutor calls for end to vote-buying ]:

Chief Prosecutor urged all political parties in Bulgaria to address rampant corruption, to stop buying votes before this year's parliamentary elections.

Political parties have been accused of offering money, food and other basic commodities to mainly poor communities and minorities such as the Roma people in exchange for votes. In addition, tougher punishments have failed to stop criminal groups who spent up to 200 million levs ($128 million) to buy votes in the 2007 municipal elections, Bulgaria's anti-graft Centre for the Study of Democracy has said in a report.

Canada Announces Support for Upcoming Elections in Afghanistan | SYS-CON INDIA

Canada Announces Support for Upcoming Elections in Afghanistan | SYS-CON INDIA:

Canada's contribution to the Afghan electoral process will be directed at supporting the core components of the elections process, including voter registration, recruitment and training of election officials, production and transportation of election materials and verification of results.

Diebold e-voting software includes delete audit logs button • The Register

Diebold e-voting software includes delete audit logs button • The Register:

Vote tabulation software currently in use throughout the United States contains a button to permanently delete audit logs that are required under federal voting-system guidelines, according to a report submitted to California's top elections official.

Electoral Commission investigates internet voting - Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Electoral Commission investigates internet voting - 05/03/2009:

People cut off by floods in Queensland are being reassured they'll be able to vote in time for elections later this month.

The Queensland Electoral Commission is working with local governments to get forms to stranded people.

The Commission's David Kerslake says, in future, online voting could come to the rescue.

"We're currently looking at developing a system for people with disabilities that prevent them from exercising a secret vote, and one of the things we're looking at is telephone and internet voting," he says.

"It's a short step from that process to then look at the possibility of internet voting in remote areas to address these sorts of issues."

Special EVMs for visually impaired-Chandigarh-Cities-The Times of India

Special EVMs for visually impaired-Chandigarh-Cities-The Times of India:

Visually impaired residents of the city would now be able to cast their votes without anybody’s assistance in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. The election wing of the UT administration is going to introduce special electronic voting machines (EVMs) for blind voters of the city. These machines would be equipped with Braille signage features on them, so that blind voters can cast their votes with the help of Braille. Earlier, these voters used to engage attendants for casting votes.

The development came following directions from the election commission of India to the UT administration a few days back in this regard.

Voting machines for blind in Madhya Pradesh

Voting machines for blind in Madhya Pradesh:
Bhopal, March 3 (IANS)

The Election Commission is preparing Braille signs for some polling booths in Madhya Pradesh to help blind voters exercise their franchise, an official said Tuesday.

“Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) in some centres will have Braille script to enable the visually challenged persons to cast their votes in the Lok Sabha elections,” said state’s Chief Electoral Officer J.S. Mathur."

German Court Rules E-Voting Unconstitutional | Germany | Deutsche Welle | 03.03.2009

German Court Rules E-Voting Unconstitutional | Germany | Deutsche Welle | 03.03.2009:

Germany's highest court has ruled that the use of electronic voting in the last general election was unconstitutional. However, the Karlsruhe judges said the 2005 vote was still valid as there was no evidence of errors.

FACTBOX - Indian election: numbers, symbols & records | World | Reuters

FACTBOX - Indian election: numbers, symbols & records | World | Reuters:
Mon Mar 2, 2009 11:55am GMT(Reuters) -

India will hold a general election between April 16 and May 13.

Here are some interesting facts and figures:

BIG NUMBERS

Around 714 million people -- more than twice the population of the United States -- are eligible to vote in the world's biggest democratic exercise.

More than 800,000 polling stations will be set up for a five-phased vote over several weeks, watched over by 2.1 million security personnel."

Money, influence and the fate of democracy in New York - Daily News

Money, influence and the fate of democracy in New York:

When newspaper editorial boards and good-government groups give dry-sounding lectures about the need for political reform, they are talking about situations like the scandal unfolding at the city Board of Elections over the long-overdue modernization of New York's ancient, breakdown-prone mechanical voting machines.

New York, one of the last states to comply with federal laws and court orders requiring an upgrade of voting machines, is holding public hearings - the next is Wednesday night - on the pros and cons of different computerized voting systems.

But the public hearings may be window-dressing for a rigged process. It appears that critical decisions about how we tabulate votes - the very core of our democracy - are being influenced, and perhaps controlled, by lobbyists and political fixers more concerned about their power, perks and paychecks than the public good.