Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Online voting no cure [Edmonton Journal]

Online voting no cure:

Online voting is being proposed by Elections Canada as one possible solution to low voter turnout. Before officials in Ottawa grasp at the fashionable, all-too-predictable Internet straw, however, they should contemplate the possibility that the change could actually make voter disengagement worse.

Monday, June 29, 2009

Wis. Considers Revising Election Procedure - wcco.com

Wis. Considers Revising Election Procedure - wcco.com:

The plan calls for exploring online voting, early voting, moving the deadline for absentee voting to the week before an election instead of five days before and online voter registration.

The Canadian Press: Elections Canada advocates online voting to halt slide in voter turnout

The Canadian Press: Elections Canada advocates online voting to halt slide in voter turnout:

Allowing Canadians to vote electronically may be the remedy for the ever-dwindling percentage of voters who bother to exercise their democratic rights, Elections Canada suggests.

In a report released late Friday, the independent electoral watchdog says it will push this fall for legislative changes that would allow it to implement online registration of voters.

And it wants parliamentary approval to conduct an electronic voting test-run in a byelection by 2013.

Washington Secretary of State touts online voting - Breaking News | Tri-City Herald : Mid-Columbia news

Washington Secretary of State touts online voting - Breaking News | Tri-City Herald : Mid-Columbia news:

Sam Reed wants Washingtonians to be able to vote online.

It may take a few years, but eventually people will realize the benefits of online voting, said the Washington secretary of state, who last year established a program for online voter registration that about 160,000 people used.

Elections Canada Report on 40th general election

Elections Canada On-Line | Electoral Law, Policy and Research:

Elections Canada conducted a number of surveys, studies and post-mortems to assess the 40th general election, held on October 14, 2008. The results have been gathered into an evaluations report.

http://www.elections.ca/content.asp?section=loi&dir=res/40eval&document=index&lang=e&textonly=false#1

Online voting could improve dwindling turnout for federal elections: report

Online voting could improve dwindling turnout for federal elections: report:

Online registration and voting may be the key to improving dwindling voter turnout in this country, according to a new report from Elections Canada.

The arm's-length elections watchdog plans to approach Parliament this fall 'with recommendations for legislative change that would allow us to fully implement online registration,' the report says.

Editorial - How to Trust Electronic Voting - NYTimes.com

Editorial - How to Trust Electronic Voting - NYTimes.com:

Electronic voting machines that do not produce a paper record of every vote cast cannot be trusted. In 2008, more than one-third of the states, including New Jersey and Texas, still did not require all votes to be recorded on paper. Representative Rush Holt has introduced a good bill that would ban paperless electronic voting in all federal elections. Congress should pass it while there is still time to get ready for 2010.

SSRN-Internet Voting: The Great Security Scare by William Kelleher, Ph.D.

SSRN-Internet Voting: The Great Security Scare by William Kelleher, Ph.D.:

Abstract:
This paper will present a social science paradigm for critically evaluating the security concerns most often expressed by opponents of Internet voting. In 2003, these concerns were so ffectively expressed that they resulted in the US government ceasing all efforts to even experiment with voting from overseas via the new technology. However, when examined within a context of social scientific reasoning, the arguments that stopped the progress of Internet voting in the US appear as mere appeals to fear, bereft of rationality.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

EU: Voting at Shopping Centres "Saved" Election Turnout - Novinite.com - Sofia News Agency

Bulgaria: Voting at Shopping Centres "Saved" Election Turnout - Novinite.com - Sofia News Agency:

Estonia, one of the EU's smallest member states with a population of 1.4 million, held the first i-voting (Internet voting) of the EU elections.

By doing so, experts say its voter turnout increased from 26.8%, one of the lowest in the 2004 elections, to 43.9% last week.

Online Balloting Holds Promise for Increasing Voter Turnout - San Diego Business Journal

San Diego Business Journal Online - business news for San Diego, California:

The world’s second largest democracy, the United States, arguably takes the prize for lackluster voter turnout.

California’s May 19 special election cost the state $60 million — ironically for residents to consider budget reduction measures — yet attracted 20 percent voter participation.

“The cost per vote was extraordinary,” says Lori Steele, CEO of Everyone Counts, a San Diego software company that conducts digital elections around the world.

The state could have spent half that amount and attracted more people by allowing them to vote online or by touch-tone telephone, said Steele, who formed the company in 2006 by purchasing an Australian firm called Everyone Counts Pty Ltd. with $500,000 in funding.

A former financial adviser, Steele has raised $1.5 million in venture capital and is planning another round of funding this summer. ...

Friday, June 12, 2009

Canada's Government Introduces the Expanded Voting Opportunities Bill | SYS-CON CANADA

Canada's Government Introduces the Expanded Voting Opportunities Bill | SYS-CON CANADA:

The Expanded Voting Opportunities Act would amend the Canada Elections Act to add two additional advance polling days during elections. Increased voting opportunities will help ensure that Canadians are not prevented from voting by the often competing demands of modern day society.

'Many Canadians still find it difficult to get out and vote because of school, work or family commitments,' said Minister Fletcher. 'Providing more opportunities to vote will help to increase their participation in elections.'

The Expanded Voting Opportunities Act adds two new advance polling days to the campaign period, on the Sunday 8 days before election day and on the Sunday immediately before election day. More important, all 65,000 regular polls will be open on the Sunday before election day. This will maximize the opportunity for Canadians to vote at advance polls in their own neighbourhood.

Tories propose 2 extra advance-poll days for elections

Tories propose 2 extra advance-poll days for elections:

The federal government is proposing two extra advanced-voting days ahead of federal elections to boost voter turnout after almost 10 million eligible voters opted not to cast ballots in the last Canada-wide vote.

The expanded opportunities voting bill, introduced on Friday, calls for advance polls to be open between noon and 8 p.m. on the two Sundays before Election Day, said Steven Fletcher, minister of state for democratic reform.

The estimated cost of the extra poll days is $30 million, Fletcher told reporters during a press conference outside the House of Commons.

Iranian-Canadians flock to Ottawa embassy to vote

Iranian-Canadians flock to Ottawa embassy to vote:

OTTAWA — Hundreds of Iranian-Canadians lined up at the country's embassy in downtown Ottawa to vote in its presidential election Friday, seemingly almost all hoping to produce a change in Iran's hardline leadership.

The embassy is the only place in Canada where eligible Iranian voters can cast ballots, and busloads of them arrived throughout the morning from Toronto, Montreal and beyond, with up to 300 waiting in line at a time.

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Absentee voting fix not enough, advocates say - Navy News, news from Iraq - Navy Times

Absentee voting fix not enough, advocates say - Navy News, news from Iraq - Navy Times:

A bill that seeks to improve the absentee voting process for overseas military members has passed the House Administration Committee, but advocates for military and overseas voters say it falls short of providing the comprehensive fix that is needed.

Editorial: IRV is ready for Minneapolis debut

Editorial: IRV is ready for Minneapolis debut:

The voting experiment may proceed. That was the word Thursday from the Minnesota Supreme Court about instant-runoff voting, aka ranked-choice voting, as embraced by a lopsided majority of Minneapolis voters in 2006.

An absentee voting success story

An absentee voting success story:

The still-unresolved 2008 U.S. Senate race in Minnesota has put a spotlight on absentee voting that has not always been positive. A report out this week by the Delaware-based Overseas Vote Foundation puts Minnesota's 2008 experience in a more favorable light. This state led the nation in 2008 in increasing voter participation by overseas-based military voters, the foundation said.

A combination of better voter outreach, a customized, user-friendly web site, and state law changes that simplified the voting process produced a 64.4 percent military absentee ballot return rate in Minnesota, the foundation reported. That compares with a national average of only 26.2 percent.

Review of campaign methods needed to boost voter turnout, says Wallstrom - The Irish Times - Thu, Jun 11, 2009

Review of campaign methods needed to boost voter turnout, says Wallstrom - The Irish Times - Thu, Jun 11, 2009:

EUROPEAN COMMISSIONER Margot Wallstrom has called for a radical shake-up of how future European election campaigns are conducted by EU states, to try to boost voter turnout.

Ms Wallstrom, who begins a two-day visit to Ireland today, said many EU states needed to change how they organised European elections. Early voting and internet voting should be considered to boost turnout. We should study how 11 states increased turnout in these elections, she said.

“One thing that should be done – and I’m surprised you cannot do it in Ireland – is vote early. In my country, you could vote from May 20th by going to a post office or municipal office. You could even enter an election bus going around to the suburbs . . . You can use e-voting in Estonia and that increased the voter turnout dramatically,” she said.

Monday, June 8, 2009

EU Elections | Ha-harr, me hearties! File-sharing pirates raid European Parliament - TelecomTV | News

TelecomTV | News | Ha-harr, me hearties! File-sharing pirates raid European Parliament:

In Europe, the election by proportional representation of members the European Parliament (MEPs) has, as usual, thrown up a few anomalies and bizarre winners, although probably none more so that the election of a representative of the Pirate Party, whose platform is to deregulate copyright, abolish the patents and intellectual property rights and vastly reduce the electronic surveillance of the Swedish population, writes Martyn Warwick.

Sunday, June 7, 2009

Gov signs bills benefiting military | Colorado Statesman

Gov signs bills benefiting military | Colorado Statesman:

HB 1205 requires mail-in ballots requested by service personnel 35 days before an election to be issued at least 30 days prior to the election and extends the deadline eight days beyond the election for receiving and counting military mail-in ballots. The bill also creates a pilot program to allow military personnel stationed overseas to register and vote electronically, a provision that Bill Hudson, the commander of the Air National Guard for Colorado, called imperative.

First Romanian voter, a sculptor living in Canberra, Australia

First Romanian voter, a sculptor living in Canberra, Australia:

Bucharest, June 7 /Agerpres/ - The first Romanian citizen who cast his vote in the elections for the European Parliament (EP) today was a sculptor living in Canberra, Australia, who came to the polling station as early as at 2 a.m. this morning, Romania's time (9 a.m. the time in Canberra), reads the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Saturday, June 6, 2009

UK Elections - Sweeping losses as Labour suffers voters' brutal verdict | Politics | The Guardian

Sweeping losses as Labour suffers voters' brutal verdict | Politics | The Guardian:
Friday 5 June 2009 22.00 BST

Voters delivered a brutal verdict to Labour yesterday, as the party lost control of all its remaining ­English county councils in Thursday's voting.

Radio New Zealand News : Stories : 2009 : 06 : 06 : Australians flown-in to vote in Lebanon poll

Radio New Zealand News : Stories : 2009 : 06 : 06 : Australians flown-in to vote in Lebanon poll:

Hundreds of Lebanese Australians have begun arriving in Beirut to vote in a national election on Sunday.

The ABC reports many were offered free air tickets by the two main political groups.

Both sides have been accused of vote-buying, including buying tickets for thousands of overseas Lebanese to fly to Beirut to swing the vote.

Voting System Adds Nearly 5,000 Ballots to Tally | Threat Level | Wired.com

Voting System Adds Nearly 5,000 Ballots to Tally | Threat Level | Wired.com:

A software glitch in an optical-scan voting system added nearly 5,000 ballots to the tally of a South Dakota election this week. The error was discovered only after the election results were called, according to the Rapid City Journal.

The problem occurred when officials combined tallies from optical-scan machines in three precincts in Rapid City in Pennington County. The tabulation software used to combine the totals added 4,875 phantom ballots to the count. The system indicated 10,488 ballots were cast when, in reality, only 5,613 ballots existed, indicating that the glitch wasn’t simply a matter of doubling the votes.

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Is Internet Voting Safe? Vote Here | Threat Level | Wired.com

Is Internet Voting Safe? Vote Here | Threat Level | Wired.com:

WASHINGTON — Arizona did something very interesting in the 2008 general election: it accepted votes over the internet. Is it a good idea, or not?

Millions Slated for Bulgaria Vote Buying at EP Elections: Millions Slated for Bulgaria Vote Buying at EP Elections - Novinite.com - Sofia News Agency

Millions Slated for Bulgaria Vote Buying at EP Elections: Millions Slated for Bulgaria Vote Buying at EP Elections - Novinite.com - Sofia News Agency:

BGN 12 M have already been slated by political organizations in Bulgaria to buy votes for the European Parliament (EP) elections.

The information was revealed in an interview for Darik radio Thursday by Tihomir Bezlov from the Center for Study of Democracy.

Bezlov further talked about the well planned, intricate schemes to buy votes for the EP elections that will take place in Bulgaria Sunday, June 7. He said that about 5% of ll votes will be 'for sale' while the average price was BGN 50 per vote.

Bezlov also explained that there was a well established chain and hierarchy in which for a predetermined price certain individuals were in charge of providing 10 votes, others 100 while the most powerful bosses, such the Roma ones, would provide 2 000 votes for the price of about BGN 100 000.

UK: Councils launch interactive election maps | Kable

Councils launch interactive election maps | Kable:

East Sussex and Lincolnshire are using interactive maps to display information about the 4 June elections. The maps are available on the councils' websites and enable users to click on an area to see the candidates, the political party they represent and in the case of East Sussex, the number of people eligible to vote. Results will be added when they come in.

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Barbara Simons: The Internet and Voting: Worth Doing Right | AlterNet

Barbara Simons: The Internet and Voting: Worth Doing Right | AlterNet:

Recently the Huffington Post published an article about Hawaii's recent Internet and phone-based elections ('America's Newest State Holds America's Newest Election'). The article presents an optimistic and patriotic view of the Everyone Counts (E1C) election system that allows voters to cast their ballots from their home computers or over the phone. It was written by E1C executive Aaron Contorer and is effectively a marketing piece for E1C that exaggerates the scope of the election, overlooks or insults other election methods, and glosses over the formidable technical challenges and dangers posed by the electronic submission of voted ballots.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/barbara-simons/the-internet-and-voting-w_b_210554.html

COMPANY CLAIMS TECHNOLOGY COULD BE KEY TO ENDING EURO POLL APATHY | PublicNet

COMPANY CLAIMS TECHNOLOGY COULD BE KEY TO ENDING EURO POLL APATHY | PublicNet:

ntl:Telewest Business, was commenting on predictions that turnout at this week’s polls will be poor with research from Eurobarometer indicating only 34 per cent of Europe’s 375 million voters are likely to cast their ballot.

The company says research conducted on its behalf at the last UK local elections in 2007 found almost half of people thought e-voting would make them more likely to turnout. Younger electors were even more in favour with 57 per cent of 18 to 34 year olds reporting it would make them more likely to vote. More than a third of voters over 55 said the system would encourage them to take part.

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

FACTBOX: Procedures in European Parliament election | Reuters

FACTBOX: Procedures in European Parliament election | Reuters:

The 27 countries in the European Union elect the 736 members of the European Parliament this week.

Bulgaria: Business climate” for vote buyers deteriorates - BNR • Radio Bulgaria

BNR • Radio Bulgaria • Life in Bulgaria •:

Business climate” for vote buyers deteriorates

Civil organizations waged a war-styled campaign against the already established public practice of buying votes during elections. All that is on the occasion of forthcoming European Parliament and National Parliament elections. Unofficial data shows that the price of a vote may vary from 5 to 25 euro. According to Bulgarian electoral law, vote buying is illegal. For the first time all parties participating in the elections are obliged to include a message in their advertising materials that selling and buying votes is a crime. According to the organizers of the campaign, its effect is not essentially different from the warnings printed on cigarette boxes.

...

U.S. issues revised e-voting standards

U.S. issues revised e-voting standards:

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) delivered an update on Monday to the United States' electronic voting standards, adding more requirements to test systems for accuracy and reliability and additional rules to make paper audit trails easier to review.

The draft revision, known as the Voluntary Voting System Guidelines (VVSG) version 1.1, adds more stringent recommendations for testing and auditing as well as requirements that election software and updates be digitally signed and improved ease-of-use for poll workers. The U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) announced on Monday that the draft revision will be available for public comment for the next 120 days.

Monday, June 1, 2009

Overseas Voting: Canadians fly on free tickets to vote in Lebanese election

Canadians fly on free tickets to vote in Lebanese election:

Canadians who are flying to Lebanon on free plane tickets provided by party supporters could tip the difference in a close parliamentary election in that country.

Corporate sponsors are paying for hundreds of supporters of the pro-Western Future Movement in Calgary and in other Canadian cities to vote on June 7, CBC News has learned. Dual citizens must be physically present in Lebanon to cast a ballot in its elections.