Eastern Ontario voters today were allowed to vote by Internet or telephone -- but not by paper ballot -- in what is being called the first all-electronic election of North America.
Despite e-voting security issues in the United States that have pitted some researchers, publishers and ISPs against Diebold Election Systems, the Linux-based voting system used in the Ontario election is as secure as or more secure than financial industry transactions, CanVote president Joe Church told TechNewsWorld.
Church said that although there is still a credibility gap as some contingents hold on to the idea of paper ballots, the access and administrative advantages are likely to drive electronic voting as the means for more and more elections going forward.
"I don't see anything that would be adverse to growth," said Church, whose small Ontario company gave 94,000 voters in 11 municipalities the option of Web or phone-based votes.
E-Voting First
Most Canadians have telephone, Internet access or both, but those who do not could cast votes at municipal offices or even at neighbors' houses, according to Church, who said the eastern Ontario elections mark the first North American voting done strictly electronically by Internet or telephone.
"You can vote from home, the office, Florida, Europe -- anywhere," he said, adding that the e-voting system also boosted accessibility for voters who are impaired with audible Web browsers and Braille-capable technology.
The security and integrity of electronic voting has been the focus of research and debate, including findings from Johns Hopkins and Rice universities that prompted protest from Diebold Election Systems.
Security Biggest Issue
International Foundation for Elections Systems executive vice president Paul DeGregorio told TechNewsWorld that security is the biggest issue facing e-voting.
and the ability to hack into a system and manipulate it," he said. "That's always a concern."
Church said CanVote's Linux-based system provides security and flexibility and uses 128-bit encryption for the actual voting, which is the same encryption used for banking and other sensitive transactions.
"That's all industry-standard stuff built right in," Church said of the system.
Conquering Complexity
Church said that while U.S. elections tend to involve more issues and are therefore generally more complex, the CanVote system was able to handle the complexity of the Ontario municipal elections, which included mayor, deputy mayor, assistant deputy mayor, other positions and school boards as well.
Church said his company is looking at the possibility of larger, provincial elections based on the same electronic voting and added that it need only cover a portion of voters in different areas.
"We're going to investigate for sure -- that's upping the scale a lot, but you don't have to do it for the whole province," he said.
Fairness and Turnout
DeGregorio, recently nominated by President Bush to sit on a new U.S. elections commission, said the Diebold controversy and related security debates will help validate electronic voting by forcing vendors to defend and improve their products.
He also referred to fairness as another major issue surrounding electronic voting, adding that if some can vote from the comfort of home while others are forced to venture out to vote, there are concerns.
However, CanVote's Church said the increased turnout brought by electronic voting -- which topped normal municipal election rates of 25 to 30 percent at 55 percent in some places -- is among its biggest advantages.
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