Elections Canada Releases the Results of the National Youth Survey

Youth split on reasons they aren't voting says Elections Canada study

A new study suggests young Canadians who say they can't get to the polls may actually mean they don't want to.

The Elections Canada National Youth Survey found that 64 per cent of people age 18-34 said the reason they didn't vote in the May 2011 election was due to issues with access.

But drilling down into the data reveals that those who say that school or work or family obligations get in the way of going to the polling station may be using that as an excuse, Elections Canada researcher Miriam Lapp said. --->>>


Press Release:
Elections Canada Releases the Results of the National Youth Survey

Chief Electoral Officer of Canada Marc Mayrand today released the results of Elections Canada's National Youth Survey, a study of youth and young adult participation in the 2011 federal election.

The survey reveals the important role that politicians and families play; youth who were contacted directly by candidates or political parties, or who discussed politics with their families, were more likely to vote. It also underscores the importance of political knowledge and interest in the decision to vote, reinforcing previous findings on the positive impact of civic education.

"This survey shows that when young people are interested and engaged in politics, they are more likely to vote. I believe that all of us - teachers, parents and politicians - have a role to play in fostering interest among young voters in participating in our democratic process and institutions," said Mr. Mayrand. --->>>

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BC backs online voting trials

B.C. electoral officer calls for reforms to engage youth

Elections BC wants to test online voting and register people younger in an effort to make the provincial electoral system more efficient, modern and attractive to voters.

Chief Electoral Officer Keith Archer makes four recommendations to change the B.C. Election Act in a report tabled on Monday in the B.C. legislature. --->>>

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Province backs online voting trials

B.C. could soon be testing Internet voting after a formal request to try the idea received a verbal endorsement from the provincial government Monday.

Elections B.C. wants permission to run pilot projects on online voting and other new technologies, chief electoral officer Keith Archer said in a report tabled in the legislature. --->>>

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See Elections B.C. Report

NLRB to Consider Speedier Union Votes

NLRB to Consider Speedier Union Votes

National Labor Relations Board Chairman Mark Pearce has scheduled a Nov. 30 vote on a scaled-back version of a controversial proposal that would speed up union-organizing elections. --->>>

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Labor board rushing to approve new rules by year end to speed up union elections

The board announced Friday that it plans to hold a public vote on Nov. 30. Its Democratic majority is expected to approve a plan that could dramatically shorten the time frame for union elections. --->>>

Ranked Choice Voting Elections in 6 Cities - Huffington Post

Real Choices: Ranked Choice Voting Elections in 6 Cities

This month many Americans had a chance to vote in state and local elections. FairVote was particularly focused on the first-ever use of ranked choice voting (RCV, or "instant runoff voting") in Maine's biggest city of Portland, along with RCV elections in St. Paul (MN), San Francisco (CA), Cambridge (MA), Telluride (CO) and Takoma Park (MD). --->>>

Spain: Indra Sistemas SA to undertake technology deployment for the general elections on November 20th

Spain: Indra Sistemas SA to undertake technology deployment for the general elections on November 20th

The Ministry of Interior awarded Indra, the premier IT Company in Spain and a leading IT multinational in Europe, the technology deployment for the provisional scrutiny of the general elections to be held on November 20th. --->>>

Internet voting: Exactly what the 99% needs

Internet voting: Exactly what the 99% needs

Why is internet voting so slow to take off? Security is one aspect — after 100 years of refining the paper-and-pen approach, it’s understandable that some states would be apprehensive about switching to that terrifying, publicly-owned entity that is the internet — but as Estonia has shown, with ID cards that also act as public key encryption smart cards, it’s possible to create a secure internet voting platform. --->>>

Military, overseas voting tech to get boost from grants

Military, overseas voting tech to get boost from grants

Technology to make registering to vote and receiving ballots easier for U.S. service members and Americans living abroad will be getting support from federal government grants, Government Technology reports.

The first six Defense Department grants, part of the Electronic Absentee Systems for Elections program, were announced Nov. 3. The states of Virginia, Maryland and Ohio, as well as El Dorado and Santa Cruz counties in California and King County, Wash., are the first six recipients of the grants, worth more than $7 million. Government Technology reports that jurisdictions receiving the initial six grants serve 134,585 military and overseas voters.

The grant money will go toward the development of electronic systems that will allow service members and other Americans living abroad to cast their votes on time. According to a news release from the Federal Voting Assistance Program, this includes systems that allow for online voter registration, requests for absentee ballots, and delivery of blank ballots. The FVAP release adds that none of the money would go toward developing systems that actually transmit ballots electronically, except in the case of mock elections. --->>>

Can internet voting boost turnout without risk?

Can internet voting boost turnout without risk?

Since various appeals to democratic principles have failed to move people off their couches to vote, some governments are considering internet voting to try and increase voter turnout. --->>>

Why can't Americans vote online? CNN

Why can't Americans vote online? CNN

In an era when virtually every daily task can be done on the Internet, why can't we vote online, too? The answer depends on whom you ask.

Advocates say the time is right to seriously consider letting voters cast a ballot from the comfort of their homes or even on the screens of their mobile phones.

But critics, many of them in the cybersecurity world, argue that letting people cast votes from their home computers is a recipe for chaos. --->>>

The Voter Fraud Fraud - New York Times (Andrew Rosenthal)

The Voter Fraud Fraud

By Andrew Rosenthal

Even in this cynical era of the politics of fear, obstruction and exclusion, I am surprised at the lengths to which some groups will go to put up barriers to voting. --->>>

Researchers propose simple fix to thwart e-voting attack

Researchers propose simple fix to thwart e-voting attack

Researchers have devised a simple procedure that can be added to many electronic voting machine routines to reduce the success of insider attacks that attempt to alter results.

The approach, laid out in a short research paper (PDF), augments the effectiveness of end-to-end verifiable election systems, such as the Scantegrity and the MarkPledge. They're designed to generate results that can be checked by anyone, by giving each voter a receipt that contains a cryptographic hash of the ballot contents. --->>>

See also: E-voting remains insecure, despite paper trail

Microsoft Research has revealed a potential flaw in verifiable e-voting machines through which fraudsters could easily use discarded ballot receipts as a guide for altering votes. Fortunately, the researchers also offered a solution -- linking new receipts to previous ones with cryptographic hashes -- but that alone won't make e-voting entirely secure, they cautioned. --->>>