harrydre wrote:Impunity wrote:harrydre wrote:Do it electronically such that once a vote is cast wherever, it hits a central database and a cumulitive total is displayed on real time basis.
Kenya Power to ensure stima iko!!
How will handle the computer hackers?
It will easy to double an entry of result by simply changing the program in the formula.
of course it has to be a secure system Let me categorically say...e-Voting will not be there in 2012 and while there is a push for it to occur in 2017 - it may not be an e-voting solution but a counting solution similar to what is found in the Philippines.
While taking about e-Voting or other forms of election technology, we are quick to point out countries that have implemented it with success but fail to understand why they did it. Elections are political problems and not technical problems, the tenets of a free and fair election are:
Quote:Fair Elections (without any distinctions) – Elections should be conducted so as to ensure equal conditions for participation in the electoral process for all eligible candidates and voters, Irrespective of gender, religion, ethnicity, political affiliation, language, literacy or disability. Elections must not only be fair – they must be seen to be fair.
Genuine Elections – Elections must be held for institutions which have authority, must be conducted in a credible manner and must present voters with real choices between candidates for election, with the results of elections representing the will of the people.
Periodic Elections – Elections must be held frequently enough to ensure that governmental authority continues to reflect the will of the people and that there is regular opportunity for the voters to change government.
Universal Suffrage – Legal and operational limitations on access to candidacy or the right to vote must be minimized and must not be discriminatory in nature, except where such limitations are reasonable or necessary.
Equal Suffrage – Voters should each be provided the same number of votes in each election being conducted and electoral districts should be reasonably equal in size so that each vote cast has a similar weight.
Secret Ballot – In order that voters are able to freely express their electoral preferences in the absence of intimidation, the ballot should be completed in private and it must not be possible to link a voter to a voting preference.
Any technology that is seen to be contravening any of those tenets should be thrown out. Since as was done in Germany and the Netherlands – it may be thrown out for potentially being “hackable”. Remember any technology that sacrifices transparency to the masses on the altar of efficiency is wrong in the same breath any technology that removes the power of control and administration from the masses to into the hands of a select few practitioners is also undemocratic from the onset. This is because elections are not technical exercises but political exercises and any Election Management body is advised to treat it as such.
has anyone thought about the cost of e-voting? cost (Fixed, Variable and Integrity costs) of e-voting or counting are high. very high! when looked at from an objective standpoint - a state-of-the-art e-voting device will only be used for a maximum of 3 elections (10 years) when the device due to Moorse's law will have become what a 586 machine is today (hardware) and its software will have been what windows Millennium was back then and no one will be supporting it.
How to approach the use of e-votingWhile it seems obvious to many on this forum, the use of computers or electronic devices is not an easy thing to a huge number of people in our republic this is due to the fact that we have a large number of people that are illiterate in the traditional form (i.e. reading and writing) and digitally illiterate individuals as well so a solution needs to take this into consideration.
As mentioned by Mukiha, e-voting is generally a slower voting experience for individuals as compared to familiar paper ballot voting unless solutions that mimic the ballot paper (physical buttons) are implemented and not DRE (Direct Recording Electronics).
Finally, the use of Voter verifiable paper audit trails (VVPAT) is becoming a standard, the VVPAT is a physical piece of paper that can be verified by the voter and physically cast on to a physical ballot box for recounting if need arises. Remember that in our case this piece of paper has to be available and legible for at least 6 months (constitutionally setout election dispute period) so thermal printed super market type VVPATs are out.
I would also wrap up categorically saying that, in elections High Tech is not necessarily "Better" Tech.
I am an internationally recognized Election Technology expert and author of many pieces of election software that include an e-voting solution.
All Mushrooms are edible! Some Mushroom are only edible ONCE!