New Zealand’s online voting trial, slated for local government elections this year, has collapsed with the national government scrapping the plan. Associate minister for local government Louise Upton yesterday sent a statement to Radio NZ saying they couldn’t “meet legislative requirements” in time for the elections. Last November, the NZ government published a requirements document that stated the local governments involved in the trial had to get independent assurance that their proposed solutions meet both national and local government technical requirements, including the security and accuracy of the system.
However, according to local outlet Stuff, some councils are blaming the national government for the delays. Horizons Regional Council chairman Bruce Gordon said the government “left it too late” to get the trials organised. Massey University commentator Christine Cheyne agreed, blaming the “tardiness” of the central government.
… The trials were criticised last year by security specialists on the basis that systems could be hackable or subject to denial-of-service attacks, and because of the risk that voter identity could be associated with their votes
Full Article: NZ government scraps e-voting trial • The Register.