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Author Topic: Not only in U.S.. Electronic voting examined
bliter
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 14536

posted 22 November 2007 03:35 AM      Profile for bliter   Author's Homepage        Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6935144.stm

excerpt:

quote:
They had to fight through a bureaucracy which seemed to see openness as a dangerous aberration, where 'observers were frequently subject to seemingly arbitrary and changeable decisions via unclear lines of authority', but the final report makes chilling reading.

It outlines many problems, noting that 'inadequate attention was given to system design, systems access and audit trails. Systems used both inappropriate hardware and software, and were insufficiently secured'.

A big problem for ORG is that 'E-voting is a 'black box system', where the mechanisms for recording and tabulating the vote are hidden from the voter. This makes public scrutiny impossible, and leaves statutory elections open to error and fraud'.



From: delta | Registered: Sep 2007  |  IP: Logged
Fidel
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 5594

posted 22 November 2007 05:26 AM      Profile for Fidel     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
He could not have brought up a better example of where private enterprise and their "intellectual" property rights don't belong.
From: Viva La Revolución | Registered: Apr 2004  |  IP: Logged
JaneyCanuck
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Babbler # 12682

posted 22 November 2007 06:59 PM      Profile for JaneyCanuck     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
There is some discussion of using it in next years's municipal elections in New Brunswick- by Liberals who are currently governing by Commission after Commission after Commission, sigh!!
From: Halifax, NS | Registered: Jun 2006  |  IP: Logged
Free_Radical
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Babbler # 12633

posted 22 November 2007 07:08 PM      Profile for Free_Radical     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
I understand electronic voting is used extensively in Venezuela, though I don't know the exact details - such as whether voters receive receipts for recounts, etc.
From: In between . . . | Registered: May 2006  |  IP: Logged
Cardy
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Babbler # 2437

posted 22 November 2007 10:12 PM      Profile for Cardy   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
I have never understood the fetish for electronic voting; it's both complex and prone to rigging. What's wrong with pencils and paper?? The only good arguments I've heard are:

(1) Environmental (no paper...) but that's undermined by the need to use electricity to power the machines, energy inputs to make them etc, greater costs in transporting and maintaining them

(2) Quickness in counting, which can be important in elections involving a lot of people, a volatile political environment, and/or a more complicated electoral system.

There was talk of using electronic machines in Nepal, which would be scary given the bad roads, erratic power supplies etc. They are commonly used in India.

Using them in first-past-the-post local elections in tree-covered New Brunswick makes no sense at all. I think part of the appeal is that voting machines are sexy, and give election authorities something to play with.

A side-effect that's not much discussed is that you need fewer front-line people to run elections (fewer scrutineers, etc), which means fewer opportunities for party volunteers. Given the weak state of parties, any reduction in the ways for activists to be meaningfully involved seems a bad idea for reasons beyond the technology. I'm all in favour of automating tedious jobs, but there are - or were - lots of New Democrats, at least, who enjoyed being part of the usually unexciting rituals and paperwork of election day.


From: Kathmandu, Nepal | Registered: Mar 2002  |  IP: Logged

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