West Virginia, which broke new ground in 2010 by allowing some of its overseas and military voters to cast their ballots over the Internet in a pilot project, hasn’t yet decided if that option will be available for them in November, 2012.
According to Dave Nichols, Manager of Elections in West Virginia Secretary of State Natalie Tennant’s office, the legislation that authorized remote Internet voting on a trial basis in 2010 “has expired and not been renewed.”
As for the future of remote Internet voting for its overseas citizens, “We’re not ruling it out. We may do it again. We haven’t decided yet,” the election official told Etopia News. He said that the pilot Internet voting program “was successful,” but that further study was needed regarding the security and cost of Internet voting systems before a decision could be made on continuing or expanding Internet voting in his state for overseas West Virginians.
In the “Findings” section of a Legislative Report on the remote Internet voting trial from Secretary of State Tennant’s office it was stated that:
“There is no doubt that online voting is a popular option for those voters having the opportunity to utilize the full system. The process is convenient-- allowing the voter to cast a ballot at a time suitable to the time zone in which he is currently located. The process is efficient-- there is no need to print a ballot, travel to a postal facility or access a fax machine. The process is adaptable--accessible to users in a variety of circumstances, including those with limited access to printers, faxes, or traditional mail systems. Following are some of the comments received from online voters:
“'Thank you for allowing Monroe County as a Pilot Program in Voting Online. I am presently in Iraq on assignment with Operation Iraqi Freedom and this online voting process gave me a chance to Vote here while in a Combat Zone. Many of our soldiers last election did not have their vote counted due to being overseas in a combat zone. That was wrong for their vote Not to count. This way that you have developed is excellent. Thank You.'
“'I will be working in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for at least the next two years. This program has enabled me to still cast my vote from 8500 miles away. I have nothing but praise for this system.'”
The Legislative Report concludes with a recommendation by the Secretary of State that a study committee be convened to consider “voter participation and feedback, security considerations, cost-per-voter, legislative mandates and administrative requirements.”
According to Manager of Elections Nichols, this recommendation has been implemented through “several meetings with state and local officials.” As of now, he said, overseas and military voters in the May 8th primary election will be able to vote using e-mailed .pdf ballots that they will mark and return by traditional methods.
As for the November 8th general election, he added, “we are keeping our options open.” He elaborated by saying that those options include being able to electronically mark the blank ballot and print it out, before returning it through legacy channels and/or “online voting.”
Asked about the criteria that will be used to determine if online voting will be an option, Nichols listed, “security, cost-efficiency, and what best serves the voter.”
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Pew Center on the States’ plans to modernize overseas voting don’t include remote Internet voting
The Pew Center on the States is working to modernize the system that allows military and overseas voters to participate fully in stateside elections. According to their web site:
“The Pew Center on the States is committed to ensuring that the election system works optimally for all voters, including those serving in our armed forces and civilians living overseas. Currently, our outmoded system hinders this important group by not giving them time to vote. Pew supports reforms that will bring 21st century technology to America’s election system and guarantee all citizens abroad can participate in our democracy from a distance.”
Their commitment to “bring 21st century technology” to overseas voting does not, however, extend to the use of the Internet for the casting and collection of ballots.
According to Pew Center on the States spokesperson Olivia Doherty, “we have only advocated for using the Internet to send blank unvoted ballots to those voters but have not weighed in on the casting of ballots online.”
“The Pew Center on the States is committed to ensuring that the election system works optimally for all voters, including those serving in our armed forces and civilians living overseas. Currently, our outmoded system hinders this important group by not giving them time to vote. Pew supports reforms that will bring 21st century technology to America’s election system and guarantee all citizens abroad can participate in our democracy from a distance.”
Their commitment to “bring 21st century technology” to overseas voting does not, however, extend to the use of the Internet for the casting and collection of ballots.
According to Pew Center on the States spokesperson Olivia Doherty, “we have only advocated for using the Internet to send blank unvoted ballots to those voters but have not weighed in on the casting of ballots online.”
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Overseas Mexicans from Mexico City will be able to vote on the Internet in local but not federal races
Ricardo Alday is the spokesman of the Mexican Embassy in Washington, D.C. He explained to Etopia News this afternoon that the recent Mexican court decision allowing overseas Mexican citizens registered to vote in Mexico City to vote over the Internet only allows them to vote in local Mexico City elections using that technology. As far as voting for federal officials, overseas Mexicans from Mexico City, like overseas Mexicans from the rest of the country, will only be able to do so by postal means.
Asked why only Mexicans from Mexico City will be able to use the Internet to vote for local officials, such as the Mayor and the City Assembly, Mr. Alday indicated that this was in response to a proposal by Mexico City officials, approved by relevant electoral authorities. Mexico City is known as one of the most progressive cities in the Western Hemisphere. With a population of more than 20 million people, it is considered to be at the forefront of social change in many areas.
The embassy spokesman explained further that only registered voters who indicate prior to March 15, 2012, their interest in using the Internet to vote in the July 1st elections will be allowed to do so. He also said that the process of appeal against the decision allowing for the Internet voting was “exhausted,” so that the Internet voting will definitely proceed.
Overseas “chilangos,” as residents of Mexico City are known, can get more information about this worldwide Internet voting opportunity and sign up for the electronic vote at:
http://www.votachilango.org.mx/index.php?cadena
“Everybody,” Mr. Alday added, “Is watching this with a lot of attention.”
Asked why only Mexicans from Mexico City will be able to use the Internet to vote for local officials, such as the Mayor and the City Assembly, Mr. Alday indicated that this was in response to a proposal by Mexico City officials, approved by relevant electoral authorities. Mexico City is known as one of the most progressive cities in the Western Hemisphere. With a population of more than 20 million people, it is considered to be at the forefront of social change in many areas.
The embassy spokesman explained further that only registered voters who indicate prior to March 15, 2012, their interest in using the Internet to vote in the July 1st elections will be allowed to do so. He also said that the process of appeal against the decision allowing for the Internet voting was “exhausted,” so that the Internet voting will definitely proceed.
Overseas “chilangos,” as residents of Mexico City are known, can get more information about this worldwide Internet voting opportunity and sign up for the electronic vote at:
http://www.votachilango.org.mx/index.php?cadena
“Everybody,” Mr. Alday added, “Is watching this with a lot of attention.”
Thursday, December 8, 2011
British Columbia’s Attorney General is appointing an expert panel to review online voting for the province.
Shirley Bond, the Attorney General of the Canadian province of British Columbia, today told Etopia News that her office is working to appoint an expert panel to review online voting for this Pacific Coast province.
A spokesperson for Attorney General Bond today sent the following statement to Etopia News in response to our inquiries:
“Our government is committed to looking at new ways of voting and investigating whether online voting is a viable voting option for British Columbians. Premier Christy Clark and I support voting options that make it easier for British Columbians to participate, however, before we make any decisions we’ll need to be certain that all security-related concerns and other issues can be addressed. As promised, the work related to appointing an expert panel to review online voting is currently underway."
According to Wikipedia:
"In 2009, British Columbia had an estimated population of 4,419,974 (about two and a half million of whom were in Greater Vancouver). The province is currently governed by the BC Liberal Party, led by Premier Christy Clark, who became leader as a result of the party election on February 26, 2011."
A spokesperson for Attorney General Bond today sent the following statement to Etopia News in response to our inquiries:
“Our government is committed to looking at new ways of voting and investigating whether online voting is a viable voting option for British Columbians. Premier Christy Clark and I support voting options that make it easier for British Columbians to participate, however, before we make any decisions we’ll need to be certain that all security-related concerns and other issues can be addressed. As promised, the work related to appointing an expert panel to review online voting is currently underway."
According to Wikipedia:
"In 2009, British Columbia had an estimated population of 4,419,974 (about two and a half million of whom were in Greater Vancouver). The province is currently governed by the BC Liberal Party, led by Premier Christy Clark, who became leader as a result of the party election on February 26, 2011."
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
William Kelleher, author and Internet voting advocate, calls OVF solution “silly”
Etopia News recently published, in their entirety, comments opposing the use of remote Internet voting for uniformed and overseas voters from Susan Dzieduszycka-Suinat, President and CEO of the Overseas Vote Foundation. Herewith is a response to these comments by William Keller, a strong supporter of using the Internet for this purpose, and the author of Internet Voting Now!:
“In my view, their ‘solution’ is silly. Why wait three days, assuming the best of circumstances, for delivery of a voted ballot? When professionally set up and operated, Internet voting can reduce the voting and ballot return time to minutes.
“How is the US Postal Service going to pick up voted ballots in remote mountain locations, or hot war zones? It isn’t going to happen. Military personnel in harm's way deserve the right to vote more than any of us in our comfy homes.
“OVF suffers from failing to follow its own advice. They rely exclusively on ardent anti-Internet voting activists as their source of proof that the technology is insecure. Yet, they must disregard the plain facts of Internet voting successes in West Virginia and around the world. They have failed to do their ‘homework.’ The existence of these systems also shows that OVFs claim that ‘nearly every computer scientist or cyber security expert’ is against Internet voting is false. Scores of these professionals are out there doing what a minority of vocal opponents say can’t be done. It’s a classic case of Nervous Nellie Luddites making up facts and telling scary stories to validate their scientifically unsound fears.
“Finally, OVFs solution entrusts the professionals at FedEx and the Post Office to carry voted ballots. But the more humans are involved in the transportation of paper, the higher the likelihood of human error resulting in the loss of votes. There are also the threats of accident, natural disaster, or enemy attack that could cause a loss of voted ballots.
“As long as we must entrust professionals, we might as well do what Natalie Tennant does in West Virginia – trust the Internet voting professionals.”
“In my view, their ‘solution’ is silly. Why wait three days, assuming the best of circumstances, for delivery of a voted ballot? When professionally set up and operated, Internet voting can reduce the voting and ballot return time to minutes.
“How is the US Postal Service going to pick up voted ballots in remote mountain locations, or hot war zones? It isn’t going to happen. Military personnel in harm's way deserve the right to vote more than any of us in our comfy homes.
“OVF suffers from failing to follow its own advice. They rely exclusively on ardent anti-Internet voting activists as their source of proof that the technology is insecure. Yet, they must disregard the plain facts of Internet voting successes in West Virginia and around the world. They have failed to do their ‘homework.’ The existence of these systems also shows that OVFs claim that ‘nearly every computer scientist or cyber security expert’ is against Internet voting is false. Scores of these professionals are out there doing what a minority of vocal opponents say can’t be done. It’s a classic case of Nervous Nellie Luddites making up facts and telling scary stories to validate their scientifically unsound fears.
“Finally, OVFs solution entrusts the professionals at FedEx and the Post Office to carry voted ballots. But the more humans are involved in the transportation of paper, the higher the likelihood of human error resulting in the loss of votes. There are also the threats of accident, natural disaster, or enemy attack that could cause a loss of voted ballots.
“As long as we must entrust professionals, we might as well do what Natalie Tennant does in West Virginia – trust the Internet voting professionals.”
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Crystal Brown at GLACVCD talks about preventing the spread of West Nile Virus
Crystal Brown, Public Information Officer at the Greater Los Angeles County Vector Control District (GLACVCD), talks about ways to prevent the spread of the West Nile Virus, recorded from Santa Fe Springs, California, on August 23, 2011.
Monday, August 22, 2011
Rod MacGregor talks about EOR using GlassPoint technology
Listen to Rod MacGregor, CEO of GlassPoint, talk about using his company's solar thermal technology to replace the need for burning natural gas in enhanced oil recovery (EOR), in a remotely-recorded video interview conducted on Friday, August 19, 2011.
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