BBC NEWS | UK | UK Politics | Voting reform referendum pledged

BBC NEWS | UK | UK Politics | Voting reform referendum pledged:

Gordon Brown has committed Labour to holding a referendum on voting reform should it win the next election.

In his conference speech, Mr Brown said Labour would hold a referendum 'early' in the next Parliament on proposals for an alternative vote system.

Under this, voters rank candidates in order with the bottom candidate's second preferences transferred in each round until someone gets 50% of votes.

Reform campaigners said the public should decide which options to vote on.

They have also queried the timing of a referendum, pointing out that Labour never followed through on a commitment to a referendum on electoral reform in its 1997 manifesto.

Germany: Manual voting in a high-tech country - Marites Danguilan Vitug | ABS-CBN News Online Beta

Manual voting in a high-tech country - Marites Danguilan Vitug | ABS-CBN News Online Beta:

It was all over by 7 p.m. Germans knew who their next chancellor was, what the shape of the new coalition would be. They could go to sleep well; there were no uncertainties.

The voting rate was low at about 71 percent, compared to 77.7 percent four years ago. (Total voting population is 62 million.) It is a cause for concern, some analysts say, and they attribute it to this year’s lackluster campaign. Still, Germany can celebrate a successful election, another milestone to its party democracy.

GenevaLunch » Blog Archive » Geneva’s e-voting made secure by quantum random number generator

GenevaLunch » Blog Archive » Geneva’s e-voting made secure by quantum random number generator:

Geneva’s citizens voted in favour of every one of the issues on the ballot yesterday 27 September, and 60,000 of them voted over the internet. That includes about 10,000 Swiss citizens abroad who were able to vote electronically for the first time. The security of voting over the internet is of great concern to election officials everywhere, and they try to make sure that the vote is tamper-proof.

The Geneva cantonal information technology department worked with local firm id Quantique to produce the random numbers that found their way onto the electronic voting-enabled voting cards, in the form of a Pin number.

id Quantique has invented and marketed a quantum random number generator (QRNG), a machine that works on the quantum level to generate random numbers. Truly random numbers are impossible to duplicate. And computers are not good at generating random numbers because computers are very good at executing instructions.

The QRNG takes a stream of photons (light particles) and bounces them off a translucent mirror. Some of the photons bounce off the mirror, are counted and become “0s.” Other photons pass through the mirror, and become “1s.” This is enough to produce a completely random number, useful for the choice of numbers in lotteries, mobile phone recharge cards, and in statistical research. And elections.

GLA goes ahead with e-voting tender | IT PRO

GLA goes ahead with e-voting tender | IT PRO:

The Greater London Authority (GLA) is set to launch the tendering process for an electronic voting system before it has been given the go ahead from the Electoral Commission.

The electronic vote counting raised concerns in the last mayoral race in 2008 from both civil liberties groups, the Returning Officer for Greater London and the Electoral Commission. As a result, the GLA was asked to conduct an analysis to decide whether the electronic process was acceptable.

It reported back to the commission in June, saying that although manual counting was the cheaper option, it favoured the electronic process for its speed.

However, even though the Electoral Commission has yet to officially respond to its report, Leo Boland, chief executive of London City Hall, said at a meeting last week they were going to go ahead with the tendering process regardless.

Online Voting Results in Record Number of Voters Participating in Halifax By-Election

Online Voting Results in Record Number of Voters Participating in Halifax By-Election:

It appears a lot of voters like the convenience of electronic voting. More voters cast ballots in the September 19th by-election for the new District 6 - East Dartmouth -The Lakes Councillor for Halifax Regional Municipality's Council than in any of the other 12 by-elections since the Halifax Regional Municipality was amalgamated in 1996, and almost 75% of those votes were cast online using the internet or the telephone.

Election boards wonder if military ballots are too costly? : News-Record.com : Greensboro & the Triad's most trusted source for local news and analysis

Election boards wonder if military ballots are too costly? : News-Record.com : Greensboro & the Triad's most trusted source for local news and analysis:

GREENSBORO — An overwhelming majority of military and overseas voters did not return ballots to the United States in 2006, costing local election offices staff time and money.

The cost is easily thousands of dollars in North Carolina. And the expense grows into the millions as that law is applied to election offices across the country.

How Germany’s Election System Works: What to Watch for Tomorrow - Bloomberg.com

How Germany’s Election System Works: What to Watch for Tomorrow - Bloomberg.com:

Sept. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Voters in the Federal Republic of Germany -- created in 1949 after World War II -- elect members of the 17th Bundestag, or lower house of parliament, tomorrow.

How many people can cast ballots?

Out of Germany’s population of about 82 million, 62.2 million are eligible to vote. Of these, about 3.5 million will be voting for the first time. Voting rights are given from the age of 18. The biggest single age group voting is aged 40 to 49, making up 20.6 percent of the electorate. Voting takes place in schools and other public buildings. In the last election in 2005 about 9 million people cast postal votes. Turnout then was 77.7 percent.

...

'Pitiful' number of expats registered to vote in next general election - Telegraph

'Pitiful' number of expats registered to vote in next general election - Telegraph:

An Electoral Commission report indicated that fewer than 13,000 of the 5.5 million Britons living abroad are on the British electoral register.

With an election due by June 2010, an estimated 2.5 million expats are eligible to join the register - the remainder having lived abroad for longer than 15 years.

Anyone who has been registered to vote in Britain within the past 15 years can sign up and expats who were below voting age when they left the UK can register at the last place their parent or guardian was registered.

GLA presses ahead with e-counting despite concerns - V3.co.uk - formerly vnunet.com

GLA presses ahead with e-counting despite concerns - V3.co.uk - formerly vnunet.com:

The Greater London Authority (GLA) is to press ahead with the tendering process for a firm to run its electronic voting system in the 2012 elections, despite ongoing concerns among regulators and civil liberties campaigners over the costs and security of e-counting.

In 2008, the Electoral Commission and Greater London Returning Officer voiced concerns about the e-counting arrangements for that year’s elections for the Mayor of London and the London Assembly, and asked the government to provide an analysis on whether the method made sense economically and democratically.

The GLA conducted the analysis itself and sent copies of the document to the Electoral Commission in June as well as civil liberties organisations such as the Open Rights Group (ORG) to review.

The Electoral Commission has said it will either endorse or reject the analysis by next Wednesday. The ORG, meanwhile, has criticised GLA plans to go ahead with the tendering process for e-counting without approval as undemocratic.

E-voting in Geneva is e-asy GUEST BLOGGERS » Blog Archive »

GUEST BLOGGERS » Blog Archive » E-voting in Geneva is e-asy:

Voting has never been easier. I always thought it was cool to wake up on the Sunday morning of voting day, and go on down to the voting place, which in my case was the local gymnasium. When I moved across the border to France, things changed. As one of the many Swiss abroad, I could only vote by mail.

Now there’s another option. For the first time, the Swiss abroad who are registered to vote in Geneva may vote by internet. There is really nothing to it. Once you go to the secure server, you’re asked to key in the 16 digit voting card number (the voting card is the one you usually put your date of birth on and sign), then you vote, you confirm, and it’s done. It really is that simple. This is a demonstration of how it works, in English.

AAAS News and Notes -- 325 (5948): 1637 -- Science

AAAS News and Notes -- 325 (5948): 1637 -- Science:

New AAAS Database Could Aid Voting Reform

With concerns persisting about the function—and malfunction—of the U.S. voting system, AAAS has launched the nation's first Web-based, searchable database that provides access to a broad range of voting-related research.

The project will give researchers, election administrators, journalists, and others fast, free access to studies on issues ranging from voting technology and ballot design to voter behavior and impediments to voting. The database debuted with about 500 entries and is expected to grow considerably.

Worries about the voting system emerged after problem-plagued elections in 2000 and 2006. The National Science Foundation and AAAS convened scholars, election administrators, and others for a workshop in 2004; the Carnegie Corporation of New York and AAAS held another in 2006. Plans for a database emerged from those talks, said Mark S. Frankel, director of the AAAS Scientific Freedom, Responsibility and Law Program.

'There is a growing consensus in America that improvements to the election process are very much needed,' said Frankel, who oversees the database. 'More research and greater understanding of the U.S. voting system are imperative in order to implement effective changes.'

Find the AAAS Research Database on the U.S. Voting System and Voting Technology at votingtech.aaas.org.

Civic duty? Why bother? The battle against voter apathy - The Globe and Mail

Civic duty? Why bother? The battle against voter apathy - The Globe and Mail:

Just 51 per cent of British Columbians turned out to vote in the last election. Harry Neufeld is fighting to turn that stat around.

Harry Neufeld, chief electoral officer for B.C., has heard every excuse under the sun for why people don't vote.

But when he got up on May 12, election day in B.C., he was optimistic that voters would show up at his polls. Advance turnout was high. And a pollster's survey before the election showed 94 per cent of British Columbians intended to vote.

They lied.

Honolulu Cuts Costs With First All-Digital Election in the U.S.

Honolulu Cuts Costs With First All-Digital Election in the U.S.:

Electronic voting has a bad rap it can't seem to shake. Across the country e-voting machines are regarded skeptically at best. Many citizen activists and some elections officials have re-embraced paper as the best and most accurate way to vote.

In May 2009, the city and county of Honolulu tried a different approach for electing members of its Neighborhood Boards. Instead of e-voting machines, residents voted either online or by phone. No paper ballots were available. The all-digital election -- which may be the first of its type in the United States -- didn't come about because the government sought to advance technology. The move was driven by a more pedestrian reason: budget cuts.

Although participation was low, city officials said eliminating paper ballots slashed typical election costs by half.

The Wahl-O-Mat: a political match made online - The Globe and Mail

The Wahl-O-Mat: a political match made online - The Globe and Mail:

Germany's electoral questionnaire helps voters select the candidates who share their views.

On Sunday, more than 60 million Germans will go to the polls. By then, about 15 per cent will have used the Wahl-O-Mat, Germany's online vote selector tool that matches an individual's policy preferences with those of the candidates or parties. The first such device, the StemWijzer, was introduced during the 1998 election in the Netherlands. There are now selectors available in about 15 European countries.

Australia: Online voting could be on the cards

Online voting could be on the cards:

The age of the internet election may soon be upon voters, with the Rudd government looking at ways to bring the electoral process into the 21st century.

In its second green paper on electoral reform, released Wednesday, the government canvasses a range of issues affecting the electoral process, such as lowering the voting age, who should be eligible to vote, the use of technology and fixed electoral terms.

Romanian Times > New measures to prevent multiple voting

Romanian Times – Home > General News > New measures to prevent multiple voting:

Web-cams will be installed in polling stations during the presidential election scheduled for 22 November, the Interior Minister has announced, in order to prevent multiple voting.

Polling stations in Romania will have personalized stamps for ballots with the election year and the number of the polling station for the same purpose.

The ministry will put web-cams connected to computers at the entrances of all polling stations to record the images of all citizens entering them.

Oshawa politicians want to postpone online voting until 2014 - newsdurhamregion.com

newsdurhamregion.com | Oshawa politicians want to postpone online voting until 2014:

Voting for municipal council with the click of a mouse may still be years away.

Council's finance and administration committee recently voted not to introduce online voting for the 2010 municipal election, saying there are still too many wrinkles to iron out.

Instead, members asked City staff to look into implementing it for the following election in 2014.

World e-Democracy Forum: New French experience of e-voting

World e-Democracy Forum: New French experience of e-voting: "On 7 June, the French resident in Africa and America were invited to elect councilors who represent them in the French Abroad Assembly. Approximately 9% of voters have expressed their choice by Internet, an option now available for all french citizens living abroad, following the publication of an official decree."

Nigeria: 2011 Ballot Papers May Have Tracking Device - allAfrica.com

allAfrica.com: Nigeria: 2011 Ballot Papers May Have Tracking Device :

Ballot papers for the 2011 elections may have a tracking device and the number of those to sign election results could include security agents such as the police and the State Security Service (SSS).

Voting adventures in Boston - The Boston Globe

Voting adventures in Boston - The Boston Globe:

"The Observer vectored to City Hall last week to cast my absentee ballot for the preliminary municipal election this Tuesday. Absentee voting is my own way of saying, “Don’t forget this little black duck’’ whenever I’m out of town for a vote."

"... The Boston Election Department, where I cast my absentee vote, is the bowels of the place. It takes grit to get there. You descend into a Slough of Despond that includes the life cycle windows for Birth, Marriage, and Death. Beyond is the Office of the Parking Clerk and its perpetual line of dour campers waiting to pay their hard-earned simoleons or challenge parking violations. “If you’re in this line, it won’t be good,’’ one man mutters."

TheStar.com | GTA | Embattled Vaughan eyes reforms to elections

TheStar.com | GTA | Embattled Vaughan eyes reforms to elections:

Vaughan's city council, battered by a slew of post-campaign audits, is being asked to consider significant changes in how elections there are run – including prohibiting the use of money raised in previous campaigns and requiring candidates to disclose their donor lists before election day.

Some other recommendations in the task force's report:

Provide a municipal tax rebate for individual political donations.

Create a way to vote securely by Internet.

Use social media to promote the 2010 elections among young voters.

Name city wards by their popular names, such as Kleinburg/Maple, instead of bland numbers.

Open Source Digital Voting Foundation - Community - ComputerworldUK

Open Source Digital Voting Foundation - Community - ComputerworldUK:

"One of the signal failures of digital technology in recent years has been e-voting. Practically every high-profile attempt to switch from quaint analogue technologies to swish new digital ones has proved a complete and utter disaster. But taking a closer look at these failures it becomes evident that the problem is not so much e-voting itself, as the toxic combination of e-voting with black-box software.

The problem is quite simple. If you can't see what the software is doing by looking at the code, you can't possible trust it. And e-voting without trust is about as useful as the proverbial chocolate teapot. "

UK: Postal vote fraud rocks Birmingham by-election in Sparkbrook - Sunday Mercury

Postal vote fraud rocks Birmingham by-election in Sparkbrook - Sunday Mercury:

Police are investigating the worst outbreak of voter fraud at a Birmingham City Council election for five years.

Almost 400 postal votes cast at Thursday’s Sparkbrook ward by-election – a third of the total issued – were rejected as likely forgeries.

Council officials, backed by the Labour and Liberal Democrat parties, called in the police after saying they suspected an organised plot to influence the result of the by-election, which was won by Respect candidate Shokat Ali.

In 2004, Birmingham was likened to a “banana republic” by Elections Commissioner Richard Mawrey QC, who investigated hundreds of forged ballot papers at that year’s city council elections.

Birmingham Labour leader Sir Albert Bore said those behind the alleged fraud at Sparkbrook had attempted to destroy the electoral process.

Sir Albert added: “Nearly 400 postal vote ballot papers were rejected because of inconsistencies in either the date of birth or the signature of the elector.

Vote-By-Mail Elections Get a Ringing Endorsement - Noozhawk.com

Noozhawk.com:

California’s northerly neighbors in Oregon have been casting their ballots through the mail for more than two decades, and the entire state operates under a vote-by-mail system, a process that began in the early 1980s with local measures and elections. In 1998, Oregonians voted to go all vote-by-mail with every election, including the general and primary presidential elections.

Convenience at what cost? The Telegram - St. John's, NL: Editorial

The Telegram - St. John's, NL: Editorial | Convenience at what cost?:

It's the kind of question that would make a returning officer pull her hair out. Tuesday night, a tenant who just moved into a downtown house, holding up three mail-in ballots sent to the former residents of the same building, all now long gone asks: 'Can I vote all three of these?'

It was a facetious question, to be sure, but one that shows one of the interesting facets of the mail-in ballot process the City of St. John's is now using.

Monopoly Looms on Electronic Voting - Consortiumnews.com

Consortiumnews.com:

Earlier this month, Election Systems & Software (ES&S), which counted roughly 50 percent of the ballots in the last four major U.S. elections, purchased Diebold’s electronic voting unit, Premier Election Solutions, which controls roughly a third of the voting machine market.

The merger of these two companies has set off alarm bells, and not just in the voting activist community.

Hart InterCivic, a competitor in the voting machine market, has filed a lawsuit seeking a federal court injunction to block the merger as an antitrust violation and a threat to “the integrity of the voting process in the United States.”

Low New York Primary Turnout May Have Set a Modern Record - NYTimes.com

Low New York Primary Turnout May Have Set a Modern Record - NYTimes.com:

Though official records are incomplete, it appears that the turnout in Tuesday’s Democratic primary was the lowest in modern New York City history.

Despite pleasant weather and the efforts of candidates who crisscrossed the city for weeks, just 11 percent of enrolled Democrats went to the polls.

The primary was also marked by a political anomaly: more people cast their ballots for public advocate and comptroller than for mayor.

More than 347,000 Democrats voted in Tuesday’s five-way primary for public advocate and more than 352,000 in the four-way race for comptroller, but some 312,000 voted in the mayoral contest.

Municipal elections interest increases | The Telegram - St. John's, NL: Local News

The Telegram - St. John's, NL: Local News | Municipal elections interest increases:

The province's Municipal Affairs Department has revealed the interest in municipal politics - the most basic level of government - has increased.

Not only has there been growth in the number of incumbents taking a second or third crack at local politics in the Sept. 29 municipal elections, but the number of women taking part in the process has increased as well.

Corporate Control over the Electronic Ballot Booth

Corporate Control over the Electronic Ballot Booth:

The recent announcement of the pending merger of Election Systems & Software (ES&S) of Omaha, Nebraska with Diebold/Premier has raised warning flags that a monopoly in vote counting will be the inevitable result. See the maps attached here for the coverage of the new ES&S.

Australia: Plug pulled on electronic voting | National Breaking News | News.com.au

Plug pulled on electronic voting | National Breaking News | News.com.au:

ELECTRONIC voting trials conducted at the last federal election proved too expensive and will be abandoned, the Federal Government says.

The Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters earlier this year conducted an inquiry into remote electronic voting for Australian Defence Force personnel serving overseas and electronically-assisted voting for people who are vision-impaired.

It found that both had relatively high average costs compared to ordinary voting and recommended the trials, carried out at the 2007 federal election, be discontinued.

Special Minister of State Joe Ludwig today said the Government agreed with the committee's report.

Why the Labour Party Must Hold Primaries - eGov monitor

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

Labour should hold primaries to choose their parliamentary candidates says Jessica Asato from Progress. She articulates the benefits of holding primaries and argues these could be the catalyst to improve the trust between voters and politicians.

Primaries officially came of age in 2009. In early August the Conservative Party adopted a primary in its parliamentary selection in Totnes, following the resignation of expenses pariah, Sir Anthony Steen. Over 20,000 voters, around 23.9% according to the Conservatives, turned out to select a local GP in what has been seen as the most successful use of a primary yet, albeit at a £20,000 cost to the party.

...

Elections Canada readies for possible vote, swine flu - Nova Scotia News - TheChronicleHerald.ca

Elections Canada readies for possible vote, swine flu - Nova Scotia News - TheChronicleHerald.ca:

Canada’s election agency is stockpiling hand sanitizer as it prepares for a possible election and a potential swine flu outbreak.

A spokeswoman for Elections Canada said Monday each polling station will have two bottles of hand sanitizer along with posters urging flu-stricken voters to cough into their sleeves and wash their hands.

Hawaii : Voting machine rules ordered | HonoluluAdvertiser.com | The Honolulu Advertiser

Voting machine rules ordered | HonoluluAdvertiser.com | The Honolulu Advertiser:

A Maui judge has ruled that it is in the public's interest for the state Office of Elections to adopt new administrative rules for electronic voting machines before the 2010 elections.

Maui Circuit Judge Joseph Cardoza, in a written decision issued Thursday, said the office has a reasonable amount of time to adopt the rules because the next elections are a year away.

'Quite a turnout' in e-vote for Dartmouth council seat - Nova Scotia News - TheChronicleHerald.ca

'Quite a turnout' in e-vote for Dartmouth council seat - Nova Scotia News - TheChronicleHerald.ca:

Forget about getting people to the polls. It’s all about bringing the polls to the people.

Hawaii : Maui judge formalizes ruling that bans electronic voting - Hawaii News - Starbulletin.com

Maui judge formalizes ruling that bans electronic voting - Hawaii News - Starbulletin.com:

A Maui judge has made permanent an oral ruling that bars the state Office of Elections from using electronic voting machines or transmitting election results over the Internet or telephone lines.

Circuit Judge Joseph Cardoza, whose written ruling on the matter was filed Thursday, sided with five Maui plaintiffs who argued the electronic voting methods should have been subject to public hearings through the administrative rule-making process.

Cardoza had issued an oral ruling in May.

How the ruling might affect the 2010 elections was not immediately known.

Antitrust Concerns Swirl Around Sale of Diebold Voting Machines | Threat Level | Wired.com

Antitrust Concerns Swirl Around Sale of Diebold Voting Machines | Threat Level | Wired.com:

Sen. Charles Schumer asked the Justice Department’s antitrust division on Monday to investigate the recent sale of Diebold’s voting machines division to a competitor, saying the deal raises anti-competitiveness concerns and has “adverse implications on how our country votes.”

The letter comes just days after another voting machine company filed an anti-trust lawsuit in federal court in Delaware against Diebold and Election Systems & Software.

Earlier this month, Diebold announced the sale of its voting machine division, Premier Election Solutions, to top competitor ES&S for about $5 million.

Minister to draft overseas voting legislation - The South African

Minister to draft overseas voting legislation

South African minister of Home Affairs, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma has instructed her department to draw up legislation to ensure South African citizens living abroad will be allowed to vote in the country’s future elections.

E-voting far more secure, insists Cullen - The Irish Times - Mon, Sep 14, 2009

E-voting far more secure, insists Cullen - The Irish Times - Mon, Sep 14, 2009:

ELECTRONIC VOTING is a far more secure system than the system we use at present, Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism Martin Cullen insisted yesterday.

Mr Cullen, who as predecessor to current Minister for the Environment John Gormley decided to press ahead with the electronic voting project, told journalists in Dublin that e-voting was tested twice here and “it was very successful”.

Electronic voting the only way to protect against fraud, conference told - The Irish Times - Fri, Sep 11, 2009

Electronic voting the only way to protect against fraud, conference told - The Irish Times - Fri, Sep 11, 2009:

THE IRISH electorate rejected the idea of electronic voting, but the paper-based system we put our trust in is completely open to fraud and manipulation. Only properly designed systems based on electronics including the encoding and concealment your ballot can offer any chance of security.

Dr James Heather, of Surrey University’s department of computing within the school of electronics and physical sciences, dismissed the current paper balloting done in Britain and by extension Ireland. He was speaking yesterday during a session on the closing day of the British Festival of Science in Guildford.

Ballot boxes can be stuffed with fake votes and ballot papers can be tampered with, he said. “We have no protection against anything like that. I don’t have any confidence that the system as it stands is secure.” He and colleagues in Birmingham and Luxembourg are currently developing a new electronic or e-voting system that can’t be tricked, will give the voter a receipt, and also a way to confirm his vote was used by checking it over the internet.

ACORN turns in Fla. workers on voter fraud charges - The Associated Press

The Associated Press: ACORN turns in Fla. workers on voter fraud charges:

MIAMI — Armed with a tip from the grassroots group ACORN about its own workers, authorities on Wednesday began arresting 11 people suspected of falsifying hundreds of voter applications during a registration drive last year.

ACORN, which stands for the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, has long been accused by Republican and conservative activists — fed by talk-radio hosts — of fraudulently registering voters. But Miami-Dade prosecutors gave credit to the group for coming forward and ACORN officials said they felt vindicated.

12% of Bulgarians Enter Risk Vote Buying Group: 12% of Bulgarians Enter Risk Vote Buying Group - Novinite.com - Sofia News Agency

12% of Bulgarians Enter Risk Vote Buying Group: 12% of Bulgarians Enter Risk Vote Buying Group - Novinite.com - Sofia News Agency:

A staggering 12% of all Bulgarians enter the so-called risk vote buying group, the experts from Transparency without Borders reported Tuesday.

The risk group includes people who witnessed vote buying, people who had been offered money for their vote or their relatives had been offered money, and people who had sold their vote.

Smartmatic and NEC Argentina Join Forces in a Strategic Alliance to Support Bolivian Voters | Reuters

Smartmatic and NEC Argentina Join Forces in a Strategic Alliance to Support Bolivian Voters | Reuters:

NEC Argentina, a subsidiary of giant Japanese IT multinational NEC Corporation, announced it has selected Smartmatic as strategic partner to develop a biometric registration system for the Bolivian National Electoral Court (known as the CNE). NEC Argentina`s selection of Smartmatic is aimed at adding still more technical prowess to help in its commitment to completely revamp Bolivia`s voter registration system.

Brazil votes on biometrics

Security Document World - Biometrics, Passports, ID Cards and Visas:

Brazil votes on biometrics
08 September 2009

Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court (TSE) has selected Suprema’s RealScan-D live scanner for nationwide biometric voter registration.

The RealScan-D live scanner is a portable, USB-powered device designed for bundling with mobile jump-kits when used at voter registration and voting sites.

Suprema says TSE’s voter biometric identification programme aims to protect citizen’s voting rights by preventing any possible frauds.

E-voting opens for the first time for Swiss abroad ahead of a referendum on September 27. - swissinfo

E-voting opens for the first time for Swiss abroad ahead of a referendum on September 27. - swissinfo:

Under a scheme adopted in canton Geneva around 15,600 Swiss abroad are eligible to vote online from Friday for the first time on the two issues of disability insurance and public education.

The e-vote ends on September 26. A questionnaire will be sent to users after the vote to find out how the option is viewed.

The introduction of electronic voting for all Swiss citizens was given a boost in February when more than 70 per cent of voters in Geneva decided formally to enshrine electronic voting in the constitution, making it the first of Switzerland's 26 cantons to do so.

BC - 2009 voter surveys available - Williams Lake Tribune

Williams Lake Tribune - 2009 voter surveys available:

Elections BC commissioned the services of BC Stats to conduct two surveys of British Columbia voters before and after the 2009 General Election and Referendum on Electoral Reform.

The Voter and Non-Voter Satisfaction Survey asked 750 voters and 750 non-voters their reasons for participating or not participating in the May 2009 events.

The two executive summary reports are available on the Elections BC website at:

• www.elections.bc.ca/docs/rpt/2009-Pre-Election-Voter-Awareness-Survey-20090826.pdf, and

• www.elections.bc.ca/docs/rpt/2009-Voter-Non-Voter-Satisfaction-Survey-20090826.pdf

The BC Stats methodology reports and data files for the two surveys can be accessed through the Elections BC website.

Surveys allow Elections BC to evaluate the coverage and the currency of the voters list, judge public satisfaction with its work, obtain data about public awareness of the electoral process and identify opportunities for improving its administration of electoral events.

Diebold Sells U.S. Elections Systems Business to ES&S | Reuters

Diebold Sells U.S. Elections Systems Business to ES&S | Reuters:

NORTH CANTON, Ohio, Sept. 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Diebold, Incorporated (NYSE: DBD) announced today that it has sold its U.S. election systems business, primarily consisting of its Allen, Texas-based subsidiary, Premier Election Solutions, Inc., to Election Systems & Software, Inc. (ES&S), a leading company in the election systems industry. The sale was consummated on September 2.

Bipartisan Group Looks to Reshape Voter Registration - The Caucus Blog - NYTimes.com

Bipartisan Group Looks to Reshape Voter Registration - The Caucus Blog - NYTimes.com:

A bipartisan group, including election experts and former members of Congress, is seeking to overhaul what they call the country’s outmoded voter registration process.

The two chairmen of the Committee to Modernize Voter Registration — Trevor Potter, the general counsel for both of Senator John McCain’s presidential campaigns, and Marc Elias, who most recently was the lead lawyer for Senator Al Franken during the recent Minnesota recount — say their campaign experiences have persuaded them that the country needs to move toward a more automated registration system.

Attorney claims ballots may be identifiable | Aspen Daily News Online

Attorney claims ballots may be identifiable | Aspen Daily News Online:

A local citizen claims he has identified which anonymous 'string' is his in digital records released by the city of Aspen after the May election and that he could possibly use that information as a jumping off point to figure out how others voted.

The citizen, local attorney Millard Zimet, has filed a complaint with the city of Aspen election commission, claiming that the city did not hold a secret ballot election, as required by state law.

Zimet says that he was able to figure out which string was his because he remembered exactly how he voted and when. The city keeps a record of the order in which ballots were handed out, and Zimet said that by comparing the ballot logs to the strings, he could figure out who voted before and after him.

BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Voting change for best film Oscar

BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Voting change for best film Oscar:

The voting system, which will determine the winner of the best picture at this year's Oscars is being changed, it has been announced.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said preferential voting will now be used to tally the final vote for the award.

BC: Many people 'too busy' to vote, others forgot :: The Hook

Many people 'too busy' to vote, others forgot :: The Hook:

Six percent of the people who failed to vote in the May 12 provincial election just plain forgot.

That's just one of the findings of the Post-Election Voter/Non-Voter Satisfaction Survey conducted for Elections B.C. following the vote.