United Kingdom: UK Recall Election Plans Too Weak And Should Be Abandoned, Say MPs | Huffington Post UK

The government should abandon its plan to allow voters to sack MPs mid-term, a Commons committee has said. In a report published on Thursday the Political and Constitutional Reform Committee said the proposed powers of recall were so weak that they could actually reduce the public’s confidence in politics. In December last year the government published a draft Bill that proposed that MPs found guilty of “serious wrongdoing” could be being kicked out of parliament if 10% of voters in a constituency signed a petition against them. But under the plans a petition could only be held if they were first censured by a vote in the House of Commons and could not be triggered by voters themselves. A by-election would also automatically take place if an MP was convicted of a criminal offence and was sentenced to less than a year in prison.

Canada: Internet voting has high cost in Alberta | Grande Prairie Daily Herald Tribune

If Grande Prairie becomes the first city in Alberta to offer Internet voting in a municipal election, it will come at a cost – and a hefty one if implemented. City council’s General Government Services learned Wednesday that, for starters, a business case requested by the province may cost as much as $30,000.

That price tag in a report from administration surprised some councillors, who along with Mayor Bill Given directed administration to study the situation further by contacting Internet service providers (ISPs).

“I believe that we can build that business case for considerably less investment than what was suggested in the report,” Given said. “Other council members agreed with me.” In April, Municipal Affairs Minister Hector Goudreau requested the business case in order to formalize a city request to pilot online voting.