Namibia: Parties endorse voting machines in Namibia | New Era

There seems to be general consensus on both sides of the country’s political divide about the introduction of the Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) by the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN). The ECN announced on Friday the purchase of EVMs to the tune of about N$22 million from India, to all but kick off a new era of voting in the country.

The sometimes-mediocre conduct of elections, as pointed out by Judge President Petrus Damaseb in his electoral judgment earlier this year, could be a thing of the past with the introduction of this new technology. And all parties that New Era spoke to yesterday agreed in unison that with EVMs in place, whoever cries foul after elections could be rightly dubbed a “crybaby”.

According to the manual published by the ECN about how the EVMs work, “there is no scope for invalid votes”, while “total secrecy of voting data is maintained”.

Texas: State Supreme Court: no e-voting paper trail required | Ars Technica

A group of Texas voters seeking to stop the use of paperless electronic voting machines reached a dead end on Friday; the Texas Supreme Court ruled that their suits could not proceed without evidence that they have been personally harmed.

Texas has been using direct-recording electronic (DRE) voting machines for more than a decade. In 2006, a coalition of voters led by the Austin NAACP sued to stop Travis County from using the eSlate, a DRE machine made by Austin-based Hart InterCivic. (Hart does offer a printer as an optional component of its system.) The voters claimed the machines were insecure and did not allow meaningful recounts.

Travis County disagreed. In a FAQ on the county’s voting website, officials answered questions about paper trails and security.

Bangladesh: Bangladesh Nationalist Party attacks Electronic Voting Machines, e-vote | bdnews24.com

Opposition BNP has attacked the electronic voting machine (EVM) as ‘a key tool to rig vote’ and said the government plans to introduce e-voting to doctor up election results. Acting secretary-general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir inveighed against the EVM and e-voting at a workshop titled ‘Electronic Voting System’ organised by Centre for National Studies (CNS) at BRAC Centre Inn Auditorium at Mohakhali in the city on Tuesday.

“As part of its design, the government has abolished the caretaker government system through the 15th Amendment to the constitution. Their objective is to change public verdict by holding the next parliament election under the elected government.”

Fakhrul said the initiative to introduce EVM was a part of that government plot.

Florida: Hacker allegedly breaches Florida voting database | The Raw Story

Voters concerned about the reliability of electronic voting may now have another reason to worry. A hacker known as Abhaxas claimed Saturday to have released data from one of Florida’s internal voting databases.

“Who believes voting isn’t tampered with?” Abhaxas asked Twitter followers.

Data in the file uploaded to Pastbin is dated between 2003 and 2010. One section seems to list candidates from the 2004 Democratic presidential primary. Another section contains the file names of ballots from various years.

Texas: Texas Supreme Court tosses NAACP challenge of electronic voting machines | Examiner.com

The Texas Supreme Court has thrown out a case challenging the legality of electronic voting machines in Travis County that don’t also produce a paper trail of votes.

In a ruling released July 1, Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson wrote that the voters who complained about the machines “raise legitimate concerns about system integrity and vulnerability. But these are policy disputes more appropriately resolved in the give-and-take of politics.”

Jefferson’s opinion came in a lawsuit brought by Texas Secretary of State Esperanza “Hope” Andrade, the state’s chief elections officer. Andrade sought to overturn an appellate court’s ruling that kept alive the challenge to “paperless” electronic voting machines used in Travis County elections. Travis County’s eSlate machines are produced by Austin-based Hart InterCivic Inc.

Egypt: Egypt looking at e-voting | Bikya Masr

Information technology in Egypt is on the rise and at a conference on Wednesday run by Intel’s “Egypt Tomorrow – IT Vision for a Brighter Future” experts and leaders pushed for the idea of e-voting to become a reality in the new Egypt.

The conference was promoted as an open discussion on the first steps toward how ICT can be a stepping-stone for democracy and freedom in future Egyptian elections.

Wednesday’s session looked at how e-platforms can help improve democratic institutions in Egypt to create a more open voting and educational platform for the country’s citizens. The speakers looked at how technology can play a vital part in achieving democracy.

Ghana: Electoral Commission to start biometric registration before end of year in Ghana, but no electronic voting in 2012 | Afari-Gyan

Dr Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, Chairman of the Electoral Commission (EC), on Wednesday announced that the commission would commence biometric voter registration before the end of this year. He, however, dismissed speculations that the EC would use the electronic voting process for Election 2012.

Dr Afari-Gyan was speaking on the third day of a public lecture, organized by the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences with support from the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, in Accra.

The three-day forum, which started on June 27 to 29, 2011, is on the theme: “Elections and the Democratic Challenges in Africa”.

Iowa: Mother Nature strikes at statehouse? Iowa legislature’s electronic voting system fails | RadioIowa

A bit of progress was made at the statehouse on Monday, but legislators and the governor continue to wrangle over details in the state budget and property tax reform. Mother nature dealt a bit of a technical set-back to the proceedings in the Iowa Senate according to Senate President Jack Kibbie.

“Rumor has it that lightning struck something up in the attic and it’s in the process of getting fixed,” Kibbie says.

The electronic voting machine which records senators’ votes was malfunctioning. Kibbie, who has won nine terms in the state legislature, is prepared to go back to writing votes down on paper. “We could go back to the way it was 30 years ago,” Kibbie says.”There was no voting machine in the senate and you called the roll.”

India: District Election Officer says electronic voting machines were not tampered | DNA

The deputy district election officer (DEO), Apurva Wankhede, has refuted allegations of political parties that some of the electronic voting machines (EVMs) were tampered with during the counting of votes.

The election for the Pune Municipal Corporation’s (PMC) Chatuhshrungi Mandir ward’s by-election was held on Sunday. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Shiv Sena, Congress and an independent candidate had made the allegations.

Bangladesh: Electronic Voting Machines likely in N’ganj city polls | The Daily Star

The Election Commission (EC) plans to introduce electronic voting machine (EVM) experimentally in the Narayanganj City Corporation polls. The EC will hold the election within 180 days after formation of the corporation, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) ATM Shamsul Huda said yesterday.

The government on May 5 declared the Narayanganj municipality as Narayanganj City Corporation and appointed its administrator on June 23 this year. As per the law, the election should be held before November 5.

The CEC said voters will get to know the system if it is introduced in different local government polls before the general election, which is due in 2014.

New Jersey: Voting machine fears hit home in Cumberland County | NJ.com

It’s been a while since concerns about the reliability of voting machines made news. It was a hot topic in the early 2000s, as worries over flimsy punchcard ballots (Remember the hanging chads?) gave way to concern about the reliability of electronic voting machines.

Electronic voting machines are the standard these days, but the lingering questions about reliability bubbled back to the surface locally this week with questions over a recent contest in Fairfield.

The race for Democratic executive committee featured Cindy and Ernie Zirkle against Vivian and Mark Henry. The Zirkles lost, according to the official tally, with Cindy getting 10 votes and Ernie a mere 9. Oddly, 28 Fairfield residents have signed affidavits declaring that they cast votes for the Zirkles.

The Sequoia AVC Advantage Direct-Recording Electronic Voting Machine was not operating properly, according to a petition filed by the Zirkles’ attorney.

Indiana: Suit calls for special election: Clarksville clerk-treasurer lost May race by 26 votes | Individual.com

A hearing in Clark County’s Circuit Court on Wednesday alleged that the county’s electronic voting machines were inoperable in Clarksville during the May 3 primary election.

As a result Clarksville Clerk-Treasurer Gary Hall is asking that Clarksville have a special election to determine the winner of May’s Democratic clerk-treasurer primary. “We’ve asked for a new election on that particular race,” said Jack Vissing, Hall’s attorney.

Hall lost the Clarksville clerk-treasurer primary race to Bob Leuthart by 26 votes. Leuthart received 880 votes compared to Hall’s 854 votes.

Oman: Brisk voting in Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry board election – first use of electronic voting | TimesofOman.com

Large number of voters came to the Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OCCI) head office here yesterday to elect its board members for the next term. Elections were also held at various branches of the Chamber.

As many as 8,700 voting forms were issued in Muscat alone yesterday, said a senior OCCI official. However, he noted that the number of votes these people can exercise is much higher as one voter may represent scores of his group companies. “One person may exercise his voting for his 40 group companies,” noted the official.

UAE: Emirates ID cards mandatory for members to vote in Federal National Council elections | gulfnews

Voters must have an Emirates Identity card to take part in the upcoming Federal National Council (FNC) elections. The card, which is equipped with a chip will be used for the first time to ensure the identity of the holder.

E-voting is considered to be one of the most efficient in ensuring a safe, effective and convenient election process, said Dr Ali Al Khouri, director-general of the Emirates Identity Authority and member of the National Election Committee (NEC). The election is scheduled to be held on September 24, officials said Tuesday.

The electronic voting system, he said, has been adopted in many countries across the world and the UAE was the first Arab country in the region to implement such an advanced system in 2006.

New Jersey: Fairfield candidates contest election results, blaming touch-screen machines | NJ.com

Fewer than 50 people stepped up to a single Sequoia touch-screen voting machine on Primary Election day. Admittedly, that’s a low voter turnout total but apparently enough to cause controversy. Due to the alleged unreliability of that brand of touch-screen voting machines, two candidates want the results voided and a recount or new election held.

Current Deputy Mayor Ernest Zirkle received nine votes and resident Cynthia Zirkle got 10. What’s more, 28 Fairfield residents who voted in the early June primary election have signed affidavits that state they voted for the Zirkles. So, sore losers or the fallibility of a much-discussed modern machine? It would seem to be the latter.

Venezuela: New Ballot Presented in Venezuela | Inside Costa Rica

The President of the National Electoral Council (CNE), Tibisay Lucena, presented a new ballot paper that will be used in the 2012 presidential and regional elections. According to Lucena, the new ballot is remarkable because of its size and voter-friendly features.

“It is very large and thus has more space for electronic voting machines, with voters required to press a button to chose their favourite candidate or party, after which a light will be turned on to ratify the process,” said Lucena, speaking on the Televen television program “Jose Vicente Hoy” on Sunday.

India: Election Commission of India Invites Media to Witness Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail | ABC Live

The Election Commission of India on Tuesday has invited Indian Media to witness the purview of the Electronic Voting Machine & Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) ay its office in New Delhi.

As per the ECI, After General Elections to Lok Sabha 2009 doubts about the tamperability of EVMs have raised in Media. In order to discuss EVMs & other Election issues, the ECI had a meeting of all political parties on 4th October,2010

The parties expressed satisfaction on the EVM but several parties recommended that the Commission might consider of introducing VVPAT for further transparency in the system.

Nevada: Secretary Of State Will Evaluate Mail-In Ballots For Special Election | Nevada News Bureau

Secretary of State Ross Miller is asking for information from county clerks and registrars about the possibility of using mail-in ballots for the upcoming special election to fill the vacant Congressional District 2 seat.

“One of our biggest concerns with the special election is trying to reduce the cost to taxpayers,” he said today. “And under new legislation, any county clerk or registrar can convert any precinct into a mail ballot-only precinct with the permission of our office.

“We’ve received several requests from some county clerks who want to at least explore that option and so we simply asked them to prepare some analysis and identify potential issues,” Miller said.

Bangladesh: Election Commission recast a big challenge in Bangladesh | bdnews24.com

Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD) has suggested holding one or two general elections under the caretaker government system until a strong Election Commission is formed.

“Reorganisation of the EC to make it acceptable to all after the present one will be a big political challenge,” party president Hasanul Haque Inu said during a dialogue with the EC on Thursday.

The leftist party also favoured phased introduction of electronic voting machine (EVM) in elections.

India: Electronic Voting Machine scan to clear doubts | The Telegraph

With several political parties voicing doubts on the functioning of electronic voting machines, the Election Commission has decided to conduct a field trial of the Vote Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) system in five locations in the country, including Cherrapunjee, by the end of July.

The VVPAT will ensure that the voting machine prints a paper ballot or facsimile, which can be verified by the voter. This audit trail will help the electorate examine how their votes were cast and tabulated.

Turkey: Prime Ministry working to enable Turkish expats to vote | World Bulletin

The Prime Ministry’s Overseas Turks Agency (TYB) has begun working on making it possible for around 2.5 million Turkish expats to vote in Turkey’s elections. In March, the Supreme Election Board (YSK) announced that Turkish expatriates can only vote in the general elections at customs gates, causing displeasure among Turks in many countries.

Only about 10 percent of Turkey’s 2.5 million expats make the effort to go to the border to cast their vote. The YSK said it cannot allow electronic voting at Turkish missions abroad because the infrastructure for it is not yet in place.

Brazil: Indian Voting Machines With Paper Trails to Be Field-tested | PCWorld

India’s Election Commission plans to test in July new electronic voting machines (EVMs) that will offer a voter a verifiable paper trail, following criticism from political parties and activists that the machines could be tampered with. But it is unclear whether the paper records of the vote will be discarded or saved after the voter has checked if his vote has been properly recorded. Some local newspaper reports in April said that the paper records would be destroyed after the voter had checked his vote.

The paper records should be saved and used in a recount or if any other dispute arises, said Hari Prasad, the security researcher who along with other researchers released a video last year that they said demonstrated vulnerabilities in the EVMs.

Spain: Three hackers suspected of belonging to international cyber attack group Anonymous arrested | The Washington Post

Spanish police have arrested three suspected computer hackers who allegedly belonged to a loose-knit international activist group that attacked corporate and government websites around the world, authorities said Friday.

National Police identified the three as leaders of the Spanish section of a group that calls itself “Anonymous.” All three are Spaniards aged 30 to 32, said Manuel Vazquez, chief of the police’s high-tech crime unit.

A computer server in one of their homes was used to take part in cyber attacks on targets including two major Spanish banks, the Italian energy company Enel and the governments of Egypt, Algeria, Libya, Iran, Chile, Colombia and New Zealand, Vazquez said.

Virginia: Arlington Voting Machines Will Be Discussed with State Elections Chief | Sun Gazette Newspapers

The future of voting machines in the county will be among the topics of discussion when State Board of Elections Secretary Don Palmer meets with staff and officials of the Arlington registrar’s office on June 15.

County election officials say they are generally satisfied with the current crop of electronic voting machines that are in use alongside paper-ballot options in Arlington elections, but have also begun looking at new-generation equipment to deal with voting in the 2012 presidential election.

Because of the large turnout in presidential years – 110,000 Arlington voters cast ballots in 2008 – Arlington election officials rent voting equipment for those years, and have starting making contact with equipment manufacturers to find the best fit for the county.

India: Opposition to raise Electronic Voting Machine issue | The Telegraph Calcutta

The Opposition has decided to raise the issue of using electronic voting machine (EVM) at the daylong 7th Regional Consultation for Electoral Reforms here tomorrow. The regional consultation, organised by the Centre and the Election Commission on how to strengthen the electoral system, will be held at NEDFi House here.

The AGP and the BJP will make a strong case for its outright abolition at a gathering which would include Union law minister Veerappa Moily and chief election commissioner S.Y. Quraishi.

… AGP’s Arun Sarma … said they want the EVMs replaced as anything “manmade” can be “tampered with”.

Brazil: India will try out the Brazilian model of voting in future | DNA

The technology called Voter Verifiable Paper Trail (VVPT), a supplement to the existing EVM system, will be piloted in some polling stations in near future.

“We’ll experiment VVPT in 200 polling stations in places with extreme weather conditions like Ladakh in the presence of all political parties. If they approve, this can be a reality in future,” chief election commissioner SY Quraishi told journalists at a press conference after emerging from the 7th Regional Consultation for Electoral Reforms held in Guwahati on Sunday.

Brazil: Brazil makeover for Indian polls | Hindustan Times

The Election Commission is set to add a bit of Samba to Indian elections. The seventh and final regional consultation for electoral reforms ended in Guwahati on Sunday with the EC voting for the Brazilian model of conducting elections. The technology –Voter Verifiable Paper Trail (VVPT) – used by the South American country will be tried out in 200 polling stations across India soon.

VVPT, chief election commissioner SY Quraishi said, will supplement the existing electronic voting machine or EVM. “We have decided to try out the VVPT in polling stations experiencing extreme weather conditions such as Ladakh. The experiment will be done in presence of representatives of all political parties. If they approve, the system can be a reality,” he said.

Bangladesh: Editors tell Bangladesh Election Commission: Don’t do E-Voting alone | bdnews24.com

Editors have urged the Election Commission to introduce electronic voting machine (EVM) in consultation with the opposition. They came up with their opinion in a views-exchange meeting with the Commission on Saturday.

The editors, however, said the opposition should not show any reservation against the voting technology before assessing it properly. They suggested the EC to put in more efforts to have a positive feedback from the main opposition to make its initiative fruitful.

India: Indo-Nepal election management pact signed | The Hindu

A Memorandum of Understanding for mutual cooperation in election management between India and Nepal was signed by Chief Election Commissioner of India S.Y. Quraishi and his Nepal counterpart Neel Kantha Uprety in Kathmandu on Tuesday.

The agreement covers exchange of knowledge/experience in the electoral process, exchange of material and expertise, training of personnel, production and dissemination of materials, voting technology and conducting voters’ education and awareness programmes.