Verified Voting Blog: Comments on EAC UOCAVA Pilot Program Testing Requirements

This week the Elections Assistance Commission (EAC) released public comments submitted on their draft UOCAVA Pilot Program Testing Requirements. The EAC document spell outs testing and certification requirements for Internet voting pilot programs for military and overseas voters, partly in response to the requirements of the Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment (MOVE) Act passed in 2009. The MOVE Act required many excellent improvements that increase opportunities for voters overseas to be able to cast their ballots in time to be counted. These changes include the electronic delivery of blank ballots and information, but not the electronic return of voted ballots. The Act also included a provision for experimental programs involving voting via the Internet. At least three states (AZ, CO, WV, and possibly GA and FL) are planning to carry out voluntary pilot programs this year. Despite the short time available for comment, many substantive comments were submitted, including from Verified Voting. While we do not mention them all here, there were many insightful comments and we urge you to read through them. Many of the comments expressed recurring themes:

Audits, Security Standards and Procedures: Verified Voting noted that an equipment manufacturing standard alone is insufficient to provide anything resembling “reasonable assurance that the pilot systems will operate correctly and securely”, as stated in Section 1.1.3 of the EAC Draft. We assert that a comprehensive security plan is required, not merely an equipment testing plan. Robust post-election audits are essential to demonstrating correct and secure operation of any voting system, be it remote or local.

The Voting News Daily: Montgomery Co PA votes dont add up. Iowa caught in HAVA audit. Stolen India EVN is TV star

A report by the Election Reform Network shows that Montgomery Co PA has a systemic problem with paperless electronic voting plus poll books that don’t add up. “There are too many unanswered questions about why the numbers of voters signed in and the number of votes cast are so different at so many polling places. In fact…the county is required to act in such instances.” says Michael Churchill, senior attorney for the Public Interest Law Center in Philadelphia…Internet voting spreads in Canada…A stolen Indian electronic voting machine ends up on television… Kenya post election violence case unstoppable…

All this and more in today’s voting news below…

CA: Judge issues temporary restraining order for special election to fill Maldonado’s seat http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_15071849

CO: DA says Marks’ election affidavit to remain private
http://www.aspendailynews.com/section/home/140577 The District Attorney’s office has denied a request to make public Aspen resident Marilyn Mark’s affidavit alleging election violations.

IA: Federal decision on $2.5 million in questioned HAVA spending out soon, official says
http://blogs.desmoinesregister.com/dmr/index.php/2010/05/12/federal-decision-on-2-5-million-in-questioned-hava-spending-out-soon-official-says/
The executive director of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, Thomas Wilkey, will examine the issues flagged and see whether they’ve been addressed so that they won’t happen again in the future, a staffer said today.
…
And there are five “current” cases before the executive director – concerning Iowa, Illinois, New Jersey, Nebraska and California.

ME: Voting by Absentee Ballot Keeps Getting Easier
http://freepressonline.com/main.asp?SectionID=52&SubSectionID=78&ArticleID=6517

MD: Tweet ‘by Authority of’: Elections officials making rules for social media
http://www.marylandreporter.com/page5505750.aspx
State elections officials are developing regulations to tell candidates on how they should identify themselves on social media such as Facebook and Twitter

MO: Missouri photo ID legislation likely dead
http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/kwmu/news.newsmain
/article/1/0/1649248/St..Louis.Public.Radio.News/Photo.I.D..legislation.likely.dead
http://bit.ly/9L7m9L

NY: Governor sets date to replace Massa
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iLVCABYO6xwh-xTtVABOvnTeyyNwD9FLL68G1

PA: Review of 08 Vote Records in Montgomery County Reveals Discrepancies Between Votes Cast and Voters (Sequoia AVC Advantage)
http://www.electionreformnetwork.us/node/229
Network Reports Disparities Between Machine Counts and Voter Sign-ins for Most Election Districts in 08; Calls for a Reconciling of Voter Sign-ins with Machine Counts Before Results Are Official

WV: Absentee ballots flip two races in Lincoln
http://wvgazette.com/News/201005120898
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Election results in Lincoln County’s two most hotly contested races flip-flopped after absentee ballots and results of early voting were tallied.

Internet Voting Watch

Canada: TOWNSHIP CONSIDERS TELEPHONE, INTERNET VOTING
http://www.independent.on.ca/site/?q=node/1151
Huron-Kinloss council is split over whether it wants to switch to telephone and Internet voting for October’s municipal election, or stick with mail-in ballots.
…
This time around, 30 municipalities have signed up for e-voting. In this area, Brockton and South Bruce are considering it.

Canada: Electronic voting all set to be in place for Oct. 25 municipal election
http://www.emcarnprior.ca/20100513/news/Electronic+voting+
all+set+to+be+in+place+for+Oct.+25+municipal+election (Amprior)
http://bit.ly/azwjNT

India: Govt calls for opinions for e-voting in civic polls
http://www.todaynews.in/city/ahmedabad/govt-calls-for-opinions-for-e-voting-in-civic-polls-72863.html

International

India: Electronic Voting Machine stolen from high-security room in collectorate
http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_electronic-voting-machine-stolen-from-high-security-room-in-collectorate_1382837 The incident came to notice when a local television channel in Hyderabad displayed the EVM last week

Kenya post-election violence case ‘unstoppable’
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8678427.stm
More than 1,300 people died in fighting after late 2007’s disputed elections.

Voting News by Joyce McCloy.Archives here at http://votingnews.blogspot.com/