Paper Vote Canada

In fact, it worked so well that [Markham CIO] Allen foresees potentially expanding the use of e-voting considerably in future elections.

"One of the options we're looking at -- and I'm not sure if we're going to go there -- is eliminating polls altogether," he says. "That's what some government agencies have done."

Voters could either vote over the Net or the phone, using IVR (interactive voice response) or SMS (short messaging service). Or, he adds, all polling stations could be connected to the Internet.

Q: How do we know that the vote as electronically reported was correctly reflecting what the individuals who voted actually did?

A: First, the system goes through a pre-testing process to ensure that all votes are cast and recorded correctly by the system. Then, during the election, each voter is presented with a review page prior to submission of the ballot. The system holds each individual ballot so that the voter can double-check to make sure the ballot accurately reflects voter intent.

Q: How is the electronic vote audited?

A: The system does not tally the votes but rather delivers the raw votes cast. Those votes are encrypted. The encryption key is kept by the local jurisdiction and is the only body that can access the votes and tally the results. The encryption process allows for seeding certain identified voters with a receipt trail.

This receipt trail allows for certain voters to review their individual votes prior to the tally in the system.

[permanent link] posted by rakerman : 6:40 pm