Jamal Simmons at Internet Innovation Alliance on March Madness and more

Jamal Simmons, co-chair of the Internet Innovation Alliance (IIA), talks about that group’s efforts to facilitate increased Internet penetration and use in the U.S., recorded from Washington, D.C., on March 28, 2013.

 

Mike Cuthriell on the Metropolitan Wellness Center

Mike Cuthriell, president of the Metropolitan Wellness Center in Washington, D.C., talks about the origins, principles, and operations of a medical cannabis dispensary awaiting official approval to open in the nation’s capital.  Recorded from Washington, D.C. on March 23, 2013.

 

Neither Secretary of State nor San Diego RoV supports AB 19, continuing trend

The California Secretary of State's office told Etopia News yesterday that it has not taken a position on AB 19, the pending Internet voting bill from Assemblymember Phil Ting (D-19^th).

Michael Vu, the Registrar of Voters of San Diego County, wasn’t any more supportive, telling Etopia News by phone that to say San Diego County would be willing to host the kind of Internet voting trial envisioned by AB 19 would be “very premature.”

“Conceptually, you don’t want to shut off any alternatives, but Internet voting would need to demonstrate that it was a viable approach.”

These comments come on the heels of other recent expressions of lack of interest in this proposed legislation, whose current text reads, in its entirety:

“It is the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would require the Secretary of State to implement a pilot program whereby a county may enable voters to vote via the Internet.”

In “No Internet Voting for Humboldt County,” that county’s Registrar of Voter, Carolyn Crnich, said that, “No, I wouldn’t want it in my county.”

In “More comments on AB 19 from Registrars of Voters,” Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters Shannon Bushey said she did not have enough about or from the bill to have a position on it, while Cathy Darling Allen, Registrar of Voters of Shasta County, said that “I don’t know if we’re at the point to move forward on Internet voting.” 

Also cited in that article was a comment from Orange County Registrar of Voters Neal Kelley that such an AB 19-generated Internet voting trial was “probably not something we'll be interested in doing."

Registrars of Voters want to know more about, assure the security of, e-inits

Two California County Registrars of Voters were contacted today by Etopia News and asked their views about allowing registered California voters to sign official initiative and other petitions online.  Each of them said that they didn’t know enough about the subject to comment on it.

            Carolyn Crnich, Registrar of Voters of Humboldt County said, “I really don’t know enough about it.  I’d like to know more about it, like how the signatures will be kept secure.  I’d like to know more about it before I offer an opinion.  I’d want to know it was secure before it was approved.”

            Shannon Bushey, Interim Registrar of Voters of Santa Clara County, said “About eight weeks into being the Interim Registrar of Voters, I have no position [on e-inits].  I don’t know enough.”

            “e-inits/electronic initiatives” are a contemporary variant of turn-of-the-century “Smart Initiatives,” about which more can be found here.. 

 Supporters of allowing California's registered voters to use the same basic technology currently employed by the state's Secretary of State to authenticate voter registrations to sign initiative, referendum, recall, and in lieu petitions securely online have been congregating online here.