technologies

This page looks at online voting systems and technologies that are specific to e-politics.

It covers -

• introduction
• election markup language
• voting systems
• the industry

     introduction

[under development]

     election markup language

In early 2001 the Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards (OASIS) established a new committee to develop an 'election markup language' (EML), an XML standard for the electronic exchange of election and voter services information.

Founding members of the committee include Accenture, Election.com, Microsoft, the UK e-Envoy, the International Foundation for Election Systems (IFES) and the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation (NCBCP).

Initial work will include voter registration, dues collection, change of address tracking, citizen/membership credentialing, redistricting, requests for absentee/expatriate ballots, polling place management, election notification, ballot delivery, election result reporting and demographics.

     voting systems

There has been increasing interest in online voting systems, with claims that they will encourage significantly greater voter participation (turnout in minor elections in some jurisdications is down to 27%) and minimise administrative problems such as those evident in the 2000 US presidential election.

Rebecca Mercuri's site and Anne-Marie Oostveen's site offer pointers to academic research and expressions of concern by experts such as Peter Neumann.

The more detailed March 2001 report (PDF) commissioned by the US National Science Foundation calls for trials of internet voting in traditional polling places but warns that voting from home/workplace is not currently viable and officials should accordingly resist hype about the online magic bullet.

The report suggests that internet voting systems fall into three categories:

• poll site voting (locating an internet device within your traditional polling place, such as a school or town hall),
• kiosk voting (with online devices accessible in locations such as shopping centres), and
• remote voting (in which citizens could vote from most devices, including those at home or work).

One author commented "E-voting requires a much greater level of security than e-commerce-it's not like buying a book over the Internet ... Remote Internet voting technology will not be able to meet this standard for years to come", suggesting a need for research into how e-voting might affect participation and the character of elections.

A survey by the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA) and Unisys disagreed, claiming overwhelmingly support for modernization of US voting technology, with 69% of respondents supposedly indicating new technologies would produce more accurate results. 61% approved of spending to improve voting systems, 70% supported special programs to assist low-income communities to improve their voting systems. 90% supported the notion of the use system throughout a state so that the voting process was exactly the same in every precinct.

The analysis and figures were disputed by the California Voter Foundation, which has a valuable page on voting technology. The Foundation released a severely critical 98 page report (PDF) on internet voting in July 2001 and problems were evident in the 2000 ICANN board elections, the first global online election. However, we have participated in smaller exercises (for example the Internet Industry Association has used the technology) and it appears to be effective in some circumstances.

For a view of technology outside the US we recommend Mercuri's pointer to a study of voting machines in Brazil, often acclaimed as a model of best practice.

Eire has announced 'in principle' a decision to adopt e-elections and e-referenda. Sweden's 2000 Technology and Administration in Election Procedure inquiry (PDF) was more cautious, echoed by the 2005 Asking the Right Questions About Electronic Voting report from the US National Academies' National Research Council.

In Australia e-voting technology - not internet-based - was trialled in the October 2001 election for the Australian Capital Territory. Given the peculiarities of the ACT electoral system (resulting in ballot papers the size of bath towels), the trial was essential concerned with speeding up counting of votes.

     the industry

[under development]

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