Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Large-Scale Irregularities in Guj Electoral Rolls: news.outlookindia.com

news.outlookindia.com | Large-Scale Irregularities in Guj Electoral Rolls: Cong

The Gujarat Congress today alleged large-scale irregularities in the electoral rolls prepared by the State Election Commission (SEC).

As many as 25 lakh "bogus" voters have found their way in the electoral rolls, party leaders said here.

--->>>

See also: Gujarat voters list full of bogus voters

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Legal Aid Foundation Files Comments Opposing NLRB “Electronic Voting” Scheme for Union Organizing Drives | National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation

Legal Aid Foundation Files Comments Opposing NLRB “Electronic Voting” Scheme for Union Organizing Drives | National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation

The National Right to Work Foundation, a charitable organization that provides free legal aid to employees across the country, has submitted comments to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) opposing any attempt to implement “electronic voting” in union organizing drives. --->>>

Electronic Signatures Come of Age: From Elections to Commerce and Beyond : Info Law Group

Electronic Signatures Come of Age: From Elections to Commerce and Beyond : Info Law Group

Yesterday, the Utah Supreme Court, interpreting Utah's version of the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA) held that electronic "signatures" gathered through the website of an independent candidate for Utah state governor are valid to put the candidate's name on Utah's November ballot. Court's Opinion. The court's decision is a huge step forward in recognizing the legal efficacy of electronic signatures that may reverberate around the nation. --->>>

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

D.C. launches test of open-source online voting

D.C. Wire - D.C. launches test of open-source online voting

According to Rob Pegoraro at the Faster Forward blog, the District "will let overseas voters cast ballots online using open-source, standards-based software, not the closed, proprietary mechanisms that have dominated electronic voting throughout its troubled history in the United States."

A Palo Alto, Calif., developer of election software, Open Source Digital Voting Foundation, will provide the new system. According to company representatives, starting with September's primary election, D.C. residents serving overseas and others far out of town won't have to choose between voting by mailed-in paper ballot or a faxed or e-mailed ballot. --->>>

Monday, June 21, 2010

Electoral Events Calendars

Wikipedia National electoral calendar 2011

Wikipedia Local electoral calendar 2011

Bahamas: Possibility of electronic voting in 2012

The Nassau Guardian Online Guide

Possibility of electronic voting in 2012

The Parliamentary Registration Department is looking at the possibility of electronic voting for the 2012 general election.

Yesterday Parliamentary Commissioner Errol Bethel said discussions in that regard are at a preliminary stage, but electronic voting is definitely a recommendation he could make. --->>>

UK: Calls for online voting to end discrimination against disabled - politics.co.uk

Calls for online voting to end discrimination against disabled - politics.co.uk

A charity is urging the government to introduce online voting after disabled people experienced difficulties casting their ballot at the recent general election.

Disability charity Scope described reform of the voting system as "critical" to ensure disabled people are able to exercise their electoral rights. --->>>

See also:

BBC: Polling stations 'fail disabled' through lack of access

Independent: Polling stations are 'failing disabled voters'

The Scotsman: Disabled access to polling stations criticised

Australia: NSW to adopt e-voting - i-vote, government, e-voting, election - Computerworld

NSW to adopt e-voting - i-vote, government, e-voting, election - Computerworld

The NSW Electoral Commission (NSWEC) is to implement an electronic voting system, iVote, for the next State Government election due in early 2010.

iVote will allow blind, vision impaired, and disabled voters, as well as those living in remote areas, to cast a secret and unassisted vote from home and other locations using an interactive voice recognition-based phone number or an Internet-enabled PC. --->>>

Saturday, June 19, 2010

Don't blame voting machines - The Post and Courier - Charleston SC - postandcourier.com

The Post and Courier - Don't blame voting machines - Charleston SC - postandcourier.com

South Carolina Democrats who nominated a candidate for a U.S. Senate seat knowing almost nothing about him -- for example, that he faces a felony obscenity charge -- deserve the national ridicule that his primary victory has invited.

But South Carolina citizens do not deserve to be misled by those who would overturn this odd election by discrediting the state's electronic voting system with anecdotal information and unrelated data.

--->>>

Friday, June 18, 2010

The Associated Press: Vote system that elected NY Hispanic could expand

The Associated Press: Vote system that elected NY Hispanic could expand

The court-ordered election that allowed residents of one New York town to flip the lever six times for one candidate — and produced a Hispanic winner — could expand to other towns where minorities complain their voices aren't being heard. --->>>

E-voting: Seven IT majors vie to provide online solution

E-voting: Seven IT majors vie to provide online solution

As many as seven IT companies, national as well as multinational, have participated in the bid to provide total solution for online voting in October 2010 municipal elections in the state. The bidders include Microsoft, IBM, TCS, Wipro, CMC, HCL and ILNFS. The tenders will be opened on June 22. --->>>

Was E-Voting Technology to Blame in S.C.? - Newsweek

Was E-Voting Technology to Blame in S.C.? - Newsweek

Theories of how Alvin Greene won South Carolina’s Democratic Senate primary include fraud and fortunate ballot placement. Here’s a new one: pushy technology.

The Palmetto State uses machines that prompt voters with a red-lettered warning if they pass on any particular contest. On paper, at least, Americans tend to abstain from races with candidates they’ve never heard of; fewer votes get cast farther down the ballot—a pattern called “roll-off.” The Greene race came after the one for education superintendent, but the roll-off was just 10 percent—low, say political analysts, for a race in which the better-known candidate had a 4 percent favorable rating. So voters who were “techno--cajoled” into reconsidering the Greene race might have voted for him just to finish the process, and because he was first on the ballot, helping explain his 18-point margin of victory.

With a quarter of the U.S. voting digitally, the prompt effect has likely happened before—and will again. It just took the prominence of a U.S. Senate contest to get our attention.

Riverside County, CA: Want to know if your vote was counted? Check website | mydesert.com | The Desert Sun

Want to know if your vote was counted? Check website | mydesert.com | The Desert Sun

Because of a yet-to-be explained glitch, more than 12,000 vote-by-mail ballots in Riverside County will not be counted because they were held at a post office until after the close of polls. --->>>

Union e-vote exploration sets off card-check, business - TheHill.com

Union e-vote exploration sets off card-check, business - TheHill.com

Business groups are criticizing the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) for exploring electronic union balloting, charging that workers would be subject to the same kind of intimidation as if card-check legislation were approved.

At issue is a “request for information” released by NLRB that asks federal contractors how they would administer a union electronic voting system. The notice asks contractors to provide information on how they would implement a system, such as how much it would cost. --->>>

State Party in S. Carolina Rejects Bid for New Vote - NYTimes.com

State Party in S. Carolina Rejects Bid for New Vote - NYTimes.com

In this age of candidate Twitter accounts and robocalls, the surprising victory in a South Carolina Democratic primary by Alvin M. Greene, 32, an unknown candidate without so much as a Web site, harks back to another era.

But the state’s Democrats rejected a request by Mr. Greene’s opponent for the Senate nomination, Vic Rawl, to turn back the clock in another way. Though members of the executive committee of the state’s Democratic Party called the election “flawed,” they voted overwhelmingly Thursday to reject Mr. Rawl’s request for a new primary. --->>>

Can Anyone Explain How Alvin Greene Actually Won? - Newsweek

Can Anyone Explain How Alvin Greene Actually Won? - Newsweek

Academics call it “low-information voting”: the psychology of what goes through our heads when confronted with a ballot full of names or issues we know very little about. Long established in political-science circles, the topic is newly relevant with the surprise election last week of Democrat Alvin Greene in the South Carolina Senate primary. It was a baffling 18-point victory for an unknown, unemployed, inarticulate Army veteran who gave no speeches, distributed no literature, and won no endorsements in a noncampaign against experienced pol Victor Rawl. How did it happen? How did 59 percent of 169,542 South Carolinians decide to cast a vote for a man they’d never heard of? --->>>

Gujarat ready to click, take first step in e-voting

Gujarat ready to click, take first step in e-voting

In November this year, when Gujarat holds municipal polls, the country will have its first brush with online voting. So the State Election Commission is working overtime, thinking of scenarios, countering threats, both cyber and logistic, to take the first step towards the next big step — from EVMs to e-voting. --->>>

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Voters Are Entitled To Know Their Votes Are Properly Counted, Says ACLU In Letter To South Carolina State Election Commission | Canada Views

Voters Are Entitled To Know Their Votes Are Properly Counted, Says ACLU In Letter To South Carolina State Election Commission | Canada Views

The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of South Carolina sent a letter today to the South Carolina State Election Commission asking the commission to require South Carolina counties to copy or preserve the flash memory cards from voting machines used in the June 8 South Carolina primary elections for the U.S. Senate so that the information on the cards can be audited. --->>>

Senators call for digital policy minister | Canada | News | Toronto Sun

Senators call for digital policy minister | Canada | News | Toronto Sun

Senators are calling on the federal government to create a minister of digital policy to spend billions of dollars expanding broadband access and create digital identification for every Canadian.

The Senate’s report, Plan for A Digital Canada, began as an investigation into the wireless industry but ended up with a call to roll out a digital development plan for the whole country.

... The report also calls on Elections Canada to swiftly start testing e-registration and e-voting technology, and for the feds to seriously look into building a digital ID system so Canada could “have a viable, comprehensive and secure digital society.” --->>>

See also: Canada must open internet networks: Senate [CBC]

Napa Valley, CA: 13,000 ballots still uncounted | St. Helena Star

13,000 ballots still uncounted | St. Helena Star

The Napa County elections office is still counting about 13,600 ballots — or 42 percent of the votes cast in last Tuesday’s election — and is not expected to release official results until June 24, Napa County Registrar of Voters John Tuteur reports.

The remaining ballots come from a surge in last-minute votes last week, nearly all of which are from vote-by-mail voters who waited to drop off their ballots in-person, Tuteur said. --->>>

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

South Carolina: Did Voting Machines Play a Role in Alvin Greene's Win? - Politics - The Atlantic

Did Voting Machines Play a Role in Alvin Greene's Win? - Politics - The Atlantic

It's an explanation that's been proposed by some: that South Carolina's electronic touch-screen voting machines had something to do with Alvin Greene's victory in the state's Democratic Senate primary. --->>>

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Thousands of mailed ballots too late to be counted in California - Sacramento Politics - California Politics | Sacramento Bee

Thousands of mailed ballots too late to be counted in California - Sacramento Politics - California Politics | Sacramento Bee

As the number of people voting by mail balloons in California, another trend is growing, too: Thousands of California ballots went uncounted in last Tuesday's election because they arrived too late – after polls closed at 8 p.m.

National Labor Relations Board Explores Electronic Voting - WSJ.com

National Labor Relations Board Explores Electronic Voting - WSJ.com

The National Labor Relations Board is exploring electronic-voting methods for unionization elections, which employer advocates fear could be used to circumvent the current secret-ballot process and favor unions.

On Thursday, the NLRB put out a request for information to contractors who can provide "secure electronic voting systems" for remote and on-site elections. The board also asked for information about safeguards to ensure "that votes cast remotely were free from distractions or other interferences, including undue intimidation or coercion."

--->>>

Monday, June 14, 2010

Bill Kelleher on Internet Voting

Bill Kelleher on Internet Voting

Bill Kelleher, Ph.D., discusses the value of, and the path towards, Internet voting, in this remotely-recorded video interview from La Canada, California, on June 13, 2010. Read excerpts from his book at: http://ssrn.com/author=1053589. e-mail him at: internetvoting@gmail.com.

--->>>

South Carolina Democratic Primary (US Senate) - Dirty Politics or eVoting fiasco?

South Carolina Democratic Primary (US Senate) - Dirty Politics or eVoting fiasco?

The fiasco verison:
by Brad Blog

The dirty politics version:
S.C Strikes Again
by Gail Collins, NY Times

Everyone Counts | San Diego Business Journal

Everyone Counts | San Diego Business Journal

Everyone Counts: Firm Provides Secure Systems for Telephone, Computer and PDA Voting --->>>


Thursday, June 10, 2010

Chief electoral officer says voters should be able to register online - Winnipeg Free Press

Chief electoral officer says voters should be able to register online - Winnipeg Free Press

OTTAWA - The chief electoral officer says voters should be able to register online.

Marc Mayrand says allowing people to register or to update information online would be especially attractive to younger voters.

This is one of 55 recommendations Mayrand makes in a report on lessons learned in the wake of the last election.

Most of the changes are minor tweaks to the wording of the Elections Act or proposals to streamline campaign finance rules.

Mayrand does recommend, though, that his people at Elections Canada be banned from striking.

He says he and his staff have to be ready for an election at any time and elections can't be held hostage by a strike.

Report at: http://www.elections.ca/content.asp?section=gen&dir=rep/re2/r40&document=index&lang=e&textonly=false

Opinion Former Briefing: Electoral Reform - politics.co.uk

Opinion Former Briefing: Electoral Reform - politics.co.uk

A large majority of voters would back a move to proportional representation (PR) a poll revealed earlier today.

The poll, commissioned from ComRes by the Independent shows that 78% of voters believe the current electoral system should be replaced by a "system that reflects more accurately the proportion of votes cast for each party". --->>>

Calif. voters overhaul primary election system: The Associated Press

The Associated Press: Calif. voters overhaul primary election system

The passage of Proposition 14 on Tuesday gave the nation's most populous state an open primary in which voters can cast ballots for any candidate. --->>>

Online Voting a Success in West Virginia - WVNS-TV - WVNSTV.com

Online Voting a Success in West Virginia - WVNS-TV - WVNSTV.com

Secretary of State’s office releases election numbers from the online pilot program.

Eighty-two percent of the overseas and military voters that requested an online ballot voted in this past election. That is compared to a 40 percent return on regular mail in absentee ballots and a 23 percent turn out of early and polling place voters. --->>>

See also:
Online voting pilot program sees high participation rate

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

eGov monitor - A Policy Dialogue Platform | Promoting Better Governance

eGov monitor - A Policy Dialogue Platform | Promoting Better Governance

Britain needs electoral reform but what is the best alternative? Phil McCarvill from ippr lays out why the Additional Member System is most suited to the UK context. --->>>

India: E-voting gets govt nod for civic polls - Ahmedabad - City - The Times of India

E-voting gets govt nod for civic polls - Ahmedabad - City - The Times of India

The Gujarat government on Monday issued a notification, allowing the State Election Commission (SEC) to go ahead with its plan for online or e-voting during the municipal corporation elections in Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat, Rajkot, Bhavnagar and Jamnagar. --->>>

Friday, June 4, 2010

Voter Turnout, Surprise Results Linked to Twitter - The Chosun Ilbo (English Edition): Daily News from Korea

Voter Turnout, Surprise Results Linked to Twitter

Korea was buzzing with Twitter messages saying, "I just voted" on Wednesday, many accompanied by pictures of young voters at the polling booths.

Some experts see a link between the micro-blogging service and the highest voter turnout in 15 years. Twitter brought young Koreans, specially those in their 20s, who have traditionally shown little interest in voting, to the polls, they claim. Turnout among voters in that age group was low on Wednesday morning but rose in the afternoon, boosting overall turnout to some 54 percent and bringing unexpected victories for opposition or independent candidates. --->>>

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

San Diego Woman Is CEO Of Electronic Voting System | sandiego.com | Business

sandiego.com | Business | San Diego Woman Is CEO Of Electronic Voting System

Welcome to the future, the future as Lori Steele, founder and CEO of Everyone Counts, envisions it.

Everyone Counts is a small San Diego company with a big idea—changing elections worldwide so they are more secure and, as a result, ensuring that democratically elected leaders are legitimately elected. Everyone Counts has a secure electronic voting system that works online or over the phone. --->>>

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Alumni can cast ballots online for IU trustees - chicagotribune.com

Alumni can cast ballots online for IU trustees - chicagotribune.com

Indiana University can now vote online to elect a new member to the school's board of trustees.

In past years, the university has mailed out paper ballots. School officials say it's cheaper and more environmentally responsible to allow online voting. Last year IU spent $175,000 to send out the ballots. --->>>

Pantalone to push for online voting - The Globe and Mail

Pantalone to push for online voting - The Globe and Mail

Forget the trek out to the polling station, waiting in line and ticking a name on a ballot. As part of his bid to engage tuned-out Torontonians, would-be mayor Joe Pantalone pledged to push for online voting by the 2014 election. --->>>

See also: Joe Pantalone would usher in online voting (Toronto Star)