Paper Vote Canada

A battle over electronic voting is threatening the cohesion of the nonpartisan League of Women Voters, whose national leadership is refusing to endorse demands by hundreds of members for a paper trail to guard against fraud, hackers and malfunctions.

Some local chapters are so angry they are flouting regulations and planning to speak against the national stance today and Saturday at the league's biennial convention in Washington. They're threatening to nominate new board members and a new candidate for president who would rescind the league's support for paperless voting systems.

[permanent link] posted by rakerman : 4:40 pm (0) comments /

Electronic voting machines should print out ballots or include other security measures to ensure they work properly in the November presidential election, the top U.S. elections official said on Tuesday.

Elections Assistance Commission Chairman DeForest Soaries said local officials need to take extra steps to ensure that electronic votes do not fall victim to computer glitches or hacking attempts.

"The increased use of electronic voting devices has created security concerns that the U.S. Elections Assistance Commission must address," Soaries told a group of Maryland elections officials.

[permanent link] posted by rakerman : 8:28 pm (0) comments /

After more than a year of pressure from leaders like Computer Science Prof. David Dill, California Secretary of State Kevin Shelley banned the use of touch-screen voting machines in four counties last Friday and decertified all touch-screen voting systems in the state until security concerns have been resolved.

[permanent link] posted by rakerman : 6:34 am (0) comments /

Meanwhile, the Ohio secretary of state's office learned Monday that only four counties will use electronic voting machines in the November election. All will use Diebold equipment, provided a series of security requirements are met.

Thirty-one counties were eligible to use touch-screen machines this year, but most backed out after the state Controlling Board released $38 million to buy them. Those counties included Medina and Portage.

Uncertainty is the main reason so many boards of elections decided to wait, said Carlo LoParo of the secretary of state's office. County officials are worried about a new law requiring a paper record of every vote and they're worried about upgrading any machines they buy this year.

[permanent link] posted by rakerman : 6:33 am (0) comments /

By taking a tough stance on questions about electronic voting, Secretary of State Kevin Shelley has gained a national profile — and made some enemies among local election officials along the way.

Shelley, who halted electronic voting in California in April and ordered counties to comply with a long list of improvements, said in an interview Monday that he was disappointed by the personal nature of some of the criticism. But some county registrars, who contend he's jeopardizing their ability to run a smooth and accurate election in November, say Shelley deserves the blame.

[permanent link] posted by rakerman : 6:30 am (0) comments /

A Telegraph investigation reveals flaws in the Government's postal voting system that leave this week's elections open to fraud, writes David Bamber

Britain's postal voting system, viewed by the Government as a key to improving electoral turnout, is open to wide abuse, an investigation by The Telegraph has discovered.


I was able to obtain fraudulently dozens of ballot papers without detection. A total of 36 ballot papers were sent to one address in London without local councils or the police discovering or investigating the ploy.


Postal voting was made easier by the Government in 1999 in an attempt to tackle low turnout on polling day.

[permanent link] posted by rakerman : 8:01 am (0) comments /