France intros online voting for overseas deputies

France intros online voting for overseas deputies

France is using online voting to enfranchise citizens living abroad, Le Monde reports. The system will enable users to vote for 11 deputies with international constituencies for the first time. Over 1 million French voters live outside the country. --->>>

Ireland: For sale: 7,500 e-vote machines, one careful state owner

For sale: 7,500 e-vote machines, one careful state owner

The January sales will take a fresh twist today when the Government announces plans to either sell off or recycle and scrap 7,500 e-voting machines.

Ministers are expected to discuss plans to bring an end to the debacle that has cost the taxpayer €55m. --->>> 

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. --->>>

Bulgaria's Greens party has officially requested the annulment of the election results

Bulgaria's Greens party has officially requested the annulment of the election results in the capital Sofia by submitting a claim with the Sofia Administrative Court.

The move came in the aftermath of another claim, submitted with the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) on Election Day, which was left without a response.

The left-wing Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) also announced they were considering a similar claim. --->>>

Chaos Reported at Bulgaria's Voting Polls on Election Day

Chaos Reported at Bulgaria's Voting Polls on Election Day

Utter chaos and confusion have ruled a large number of voting polls across Bulgaria Sunday, which was the day of presidential and local elections.

The Bulgarian National Television, BNT, reported about disarray, long lines and people passing out at voting sections in the capital Sofia. The same information has arrived from the Black Sea city of Burgas.

BNT also aired a video showing members of electoral commissions in Sofia going home with ballots that they did not account for. They have explained it with outrage from poor organization on the part of the Regional Electoral Commission making them stay until 3 am in voting polls and then wait for hours to sign off and deliver their protocols. They have also threatened that they would not return to work next Sunday when runoff elections are to be held at many locations. --->>>

Bulgaria: Why do citizens sell their vote?

Why do citizens sell their vote?

This weekend Bulgaria holds its presidential and local elections. Diana Kovatcheva, Executive Director of Transparency International Bulgaria, writes about their new report that has been making waves with concerns that vote-buying is an all too common practice.

Transparency International Bulgaria has been monitoring the transparency of election campaigns for ten years (see our last report here). During this time we have seen that attempts to manipulate elections’ results through vote buying, corporate pressure over voters and other illicit tactics are all too common. The survey we carried out this October and published this week shows that many Bulgarians also feel that their elections are tarnished by corrupt practices. --->>>

Widespread claims of vote-buying in Bulgaria

Widespread claims of vote-buying in Bulgaria

SOFIA, Oct 24 - Widespread allegations of vote-buying and pressure on minorities, even if largely unproven, marred Bulgaria's presidential and local elections, international observers said Monday.

"Vote-buying is extremely difficult to observe and to prove and we do not have any true evidence," OSCE mission chief Vadim Zhdanovic told a press conference.

"But regardless of the veracity of the allegations of vote-buying, the fact that they are so persistent and widespread concerns us because it undermines public trust in the election process," he added. --->>>

Bulgaria - The vote-buying business

Bulgaria - The vote-buying business

For Bulgarian television journalists and state authorities, election 2011 has meant the opening of hunting season, as reporters, undercover agents and prosecutors set out on the trail of those who buy and sell votes. --->>>

New Bulgarian Internet Site Monitors Election Violations

New Bulgarian Internet Site Monitors Election Violations

A new internet site dedicated to the monitoring of violations in the election process in Bulgaria has been launched in the eve of the October 23 presidential and local elections.

The project comes on the backdrop of data of Transparency International showing that 20% to 25% of Bulgarian voters become victims of the so-called "controlled vote" with 12% admitting they have been involved in vote buying and selling.

Read full article --->>>

The internet address of the site is http://fairelections.eu and has versions in Bulgarian and English.

Press Release: All of Norway ready for the 2011 municipal and county council elections

Press Release: All of Norway ready for the 2011 municipal and county council elections

Municipal and county authorities throughout Norway have now completed their technical preparations and are ready for the elections to be held on 11 and 12 September. An extensive apparatus of IT systems, vote counting machines, technical equipment and election material is now in place at all the authorities across the country ready for the elections. This information comes from a review carried out by EDB ErgoGroup, which is a supplier of election systems for this year's elections. --->>>

Election expert team to follow internet voting in Norway

Election expert team to follow internet voting in Norway

The OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) deployed an election expert team to Norway on 27 June 2011 to follow a pilot project on new voting technologies (NVT) that was put in place for the forthcoming 12 September municipal elections.

View the source code and other materials related to Norway’s internet voting pilot project

Norway intends to use NVT in 10 municipalities, where voters will be able to vote remotely or via the Internet. Voters will also be given the option of voting using traditional ballots. --->>>

Tallinn Calls in Expert to Denounce E-Voting

Tallinn Calls in Expert to Denounce E-Voting

Yesterday, July 20, the City of Tallinn bolstered its drive to bar the nation's much-touted e-voting system from local elections, holding a press conference where prominent US computer scientist Barbara Simons said that such systems are inherently vulnerable. --->>>

Lessons From Estonia: Preparing for a Major Cyberattack

Lessons From Estonia: Preparing for a Major Cyberattack

In the spring of 2007, Estonia became the first nation to face a coordinated, nationwide cyberattack when a series of electronic bombardments struck down media, telecommunications, government, and banking websites. Digital traffic from servers as far away as Peru, Vietnam, and the United States flooded Estonian websites, drowning them in superfluous data. --->>>

Parliament Sets up E-Voting Working Group - Estonia Public Broadcasting

Parliament Sets up E-Voting Working Group

On June 9, the Parliament's Constitutional Committee established a working group tasked with shoring up regulations related to the country's much-touted e-voting system. --->>>