While it was a success in Greater Sudbury last October, online voting is still years away at the federal level, says Canada’s chief electoral officer. Marc Mayrand, who was in Sudbury on Sunday getting local election workers ready for this year’s federal election, said there are still too many issues with online voting for it to be done on a scale as big as a national vote. “The technology is there,” Mayrand said. “But there’s still issues around security (and) verification … Hackers are getting ever more sophisticated. And there are also concerns around transparency.” There’s also worry about switching from a system where election officials personally witness people voting, to one where voters use a PIN number to cast a ballot at home, or wherever they happen to be.
“So it’s very difficult to attest that the person marking the ballot is that person is acting on his or her own, or whether they are being unduly influenced,” Mayrand said. “Right now, no country in the world has online voting. It’s done at the local municipal level, but here in Canada no province has online voting. Nor around the world do any countries offer full-fledged online voting. “And those who have tested it have generally stepped back, because there are too many vulnerabilities.”
It is coming, he said, estimating it’s likely two elections away from being introduced in some form. But there has to be political will in the House of Commons for it to become a reality.
Full Article: Online voting still years away at the federal level.