India: Electronic Voting Machines on the blink, voters made to wait in India | The Times of India

Voters might have turned out in full force across the city but electronic voting machines (EVMs) at many polling booths failed to match up to the electorate’s eagerness.

Many EVMs failed to work in the morning leading to confusion and anger among voters. At Shri Krishnaswamy College for Women in Anna Nagar, several voters, who had turned up early in the morning, returned without voting because the machines were not working.

Ghana: Ghana Electoral Commission Hopes To Use E-Voting In 2012 | ModernGhana.com

The Electoral Commission (EC) has expressed the wish to adopt the electronic voting system in the next general election because it will solve many problems in the election process.

“It is our wish because it will solve a lot of our problems”, the Deputy Chairman of the EC (Operations), Mr Kwadwo Safo Kantanka, responded to a question posed by the Daily Graphic as to whether electronic voting would be used in Election 2012. He, however, indicated that electronic voting would be applied only if the system was ready by the time of holding the next general elections.

India: Poll panel to mix up Electronic Voting Machines during counting | The Times of India

For the first time, the Election Commission is considering mixing up the electronic voting machines (EVMs) during the counting so that counting agents will not be able to identify which constituency a particular EVM belongs to.

The EC is trying to remove any fears people may have about voting as some political parties have allegedly threatened voters that they can find out who they have voted for during counting.

India: Men, donkeys at work to carry Electronic Voting Machines to booths | Times Of India

Our election process has gone hitech with electronic voting machines, but some areas in Tamil Nadu are so backward that these new-age machines have to be taken on the back of donkeys or carried on head by men.

In a few villages devoid of motorable roads in Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri districts, EVMs were transported on Monday and Tuesday on the back of donkeys. In several hilly hamlets in Salem, headload workers assisted polling officials by carrying EVMs and other polling materials through the tough terrain.

Ghana: Ghana Electoral Commission Says No Electronic Voting in 2012 | GhanaWeb.com

The Electoral Commission (EC) has announced it would not introduce the electronic voting system in the 2012 elections. According to the EC, unlike the ballot paper; the processes of vote counting and tabulation in the e-voting system are often invisible which does not satisfy the curiosity of the voters as to whether their votes have been counted or not.

The electronic voting system is expected to help curb cases of double registration, vote rigging, ballot box snatching as well as end the perpetual claim and counter claim of rigging by the parties who take part in elections in the country. The Danquah Institute (DI), a policy think tank, proposed a switch from the manual to the electronic voting (e-voting) system for the 2012 election because they believe it could be the best solution to end not only systemic electoral fraud, but also post election violence in the future.

Pakistan: Imran moves Pakistan Supreme Court for electronic voting machines | thenews.com.pk

A constitutional petition was filed on Thursday in the Supreme Court, seeking direction to the Election Commission (EC) to introduce electronic voting machines in the future general elections. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan filed the petition under Article 184(3), making the EC, National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra), and the Federation of Pakistan through the Parliamentary Affairs Ministry secretary respondents.

The petition filed through Advocate Hamid Khan further prayed to direct the EC to prepare fresh electoral rolls, eliminating all bogus votes, and introducing and incorporating the new eligible voters that can be verified from the database and record of Nadra.

Ghana: Ghana pushes for E-voting | tmcnet.com

The Ghanaian government announced here on Thursday that it would support the electoral commission to develop a biometric voter register in order to lay a strong foundation for e-voting in the country. The government said that the e-voting system would eliminate the incidence of multiple registrations, multiple voting and other kinds of electoral fraud in elections.

Opening a two-day Microsoft Open Door Conference for West Africa here, Minister for Communications Haruna Iddrissu said the government wanted to ensure that there were credible elections in Ghana.

Turkey: Is digital voting possible in Turkey? | Hurriyet Dailt News

With election day approaching, it is the right time to discuss digital voting. Traditionally, millions of Turkish citizens go to a physical location where they stamp their votes on paper, enclose it within an envelope and drop it in a closed box, which is later opened and counted by previously assigned people.

They also get their fingers painted with a permanent ink and go around with a stain for days. This type of voting causes hours of lost time, a nationwide expenditure on gasoline that is more than usual, a stain for a week and suspicion as to whether the ballots are really being counted correctly or not. It is a customary sight to find uncounted ballots in the garbage. Ideally, electronic voting would end all of these troubles if you trust your government.

Australia: Queensland legislation holds e-voting at bay | Computerworld.au

The Electoral Commission of Queensland will forgo electronic voting for the next state election, sidelining plans to develop a system as a result of legislative restrictions in the state.

The commission allocated $960,000 in funding late last year for research into technology to assist voting for the blind and vision impaired, following similar projects in NSW and Victoria ahead of their respective elections.

Egypt: Egypt envoy seeks India’s help in conducting polls | The Times of India

Egypt’s ambassador to India Khaled el Bakly met chief election commissioner (CEC) S Y Quraishi recently, seeking assistance in conducting elections after Hosni Mubarak’s ouster. Parliamentary elections will be held in Egypt in September, followed by presidential polls in November.

During the meeting with Quraishi, Bakly wanted to know about various aspects of election management and electronic voting machines (EVMs). “He asked how fast we can provide EVMs in case they decide to use them,” said a senior election commission (EC) official.  The EC has sent Bakly documents on skills, experience and technical know-how in conducting elections in India.

Editorials: Penny Venetis: Losing democracy in cyberspace | NorthJersey.com

It has been nothing short of astonishing that, within a few weeks, the brave people of Tunisia and Egypt toppled corrupt dictators who ruled for decades. One of the protesters’ key demands was for democratic elections — the right to choose a government that is responsive to the people’s needs. That is also what protesters in Bahrain, Yemen, Iran, Jordan and Libya are demanding as they call for the dissolution of their autocratic and oppressive governments.

As the protesters know all too well, voting does not mean that one’s vote will be counted. In Egypt’s 2005 elections, Hosni Mubarak was reelected with 88.6 percent of the vote. In 2009, Tunisia’s Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was reelected with an 89.6 percent landslide victory. In both cases allegations of fraud and corruption surrounded the elections.

India: India: Shiv Sena opposes Electronic Voting Machines and e-voting system

Shiv Sena would oppose the use of electronic voting machines (EVMs) and e-voting system during upcoming polls in 10 municipal corporations and 167 municipal councils in Maharashtra. A delegation of Sena leaders today met state election commissioner Neela Satyanarayan submitting a memorandum opposing use of EVMs and e-voting in the polls.

The commission had earlier said that it will set up a committee before introducing the e-voting system. “The EVMs create confusion in the whole voting process and among voters.