[Privsec] e-Voting theme proposal

Ralf Bendrath bendrath at zedat.fu-berlin.de
Tue Mar 28 15:56:20 BST 2006


-------- Original Message --------
Subject: 	Fw: [WSIS CS-Plenary] Re: [governance] IG Public policy issues
- approx 7 days left to deadline.. [March 31/06]
Date: 	Fri, 24 Mar 2006 12:23:54 -0400
From: 	Ginger Paque <ginger at paque.net>
Reply-To: 	plenary at wsis-cs.org
To: 	<plenary at wsis-cs.org>


Robert: any chance you can put this into acceptable format and include
it? I know that there is not widespread interest in this issue, but that
is what makes it particularly important to include it.
Thanks, Ginger
__
_Concise formulation_
*E-voting technologies must be examined to ensure that they do
not threaten the right to vote.*

_Description_
Electronic voting and identification systems may help more people
exercise their right to vote. But the potential for manipulation and
invasion are frightening.

All voting processes, manual or electronic, are subject to error, to
omission, to physical and training problems. Electronic voting adds the
issue of vulnerability to manipulation through software particularly if
there is not a verifiable paper backup.



Computer hackers have every conceivable motivation, many times
incomprehensible to most of us. But without a doubt, the stakes in an
election are high enough that there most probably will be attempts to
manipulate the results. There must be an international certification
process for electronic voting machine and software manufacturers to
oversee these processes and ensure that all possible efforts are made to
avoid tampering.



The collection and use of voter information may seem to be a privacy
issue, but it is also a right to vote issue. A voter who is not
confident that their vote will be secret and is afraid of retribution
related to their political stance may well be affected in their decision
of whether to vote and how to vote. If voter ID information is collected
in a serial manner parallel to the serial vote tabulation, it is
conceivable that the individual vote could be deciphered and recorded.



  If there is not voter confidence in the electoral process, there is no
exercise of the right to vote.



_Substance_

_Mandate_

_Main actors_

_*Priority for treatment **in the first annual meeting*_



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