Virginia: Attorney general declines to issue opinion on voting machine security in Botetourt | Roanoke Times

The state attorney general’s office has declined to issue a legal opinion on whether it’s a conflict for a Botetourt County elected official to share office space with the voting machines to be used in the next election. The county’s electoral board sought the opinion last month, after questioning whether it should continue to store the machines in the same Fincastle building where Commonwealth’s Attorney Joel Branscom recently relocated his office. Although no one suggested that Branscom or his staff would tamper with — or even touch — the machines, election officials said they were concerned about the appearances of the new arrangement.

India: 16 Opposition parties ask Election Commission to revert to paper ballots | Deccan Herald

Sixteen Opposition parties on Monday approached the Election Commission expressing no confidence in Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs)and demanded elections through paper ballots. The concerted action follows a series of meetings between Opposition leaders, a few initiated by Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi, to forge a rainbow coalition against the BJP that has shown aggression in expanding its horizons after the electoral successes in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Senior Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad, Anand Sharma and Ahmed Patel held a strategy meeting on Monday morning that was attended by leaders of eight parties – the NCP, JD(U), CPI, CPM, SP, BSP, Trinamool Congress and the RJD. Azad and Patel also met Trinamool Congress chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to seek her support for the joint action against the use of EVMs.

Nigeria: How electronic voting will change the face of Nigeria’s future general elections | Ventures Africa

On the 31st of March, 2017, the Nigerian Senate passed the Electoral Act No. 6 2010 (Amendment) Bill 2017 into law. This bill gives the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) the power to conduct Electronic Voting (E-voting). … The bill raises the question of Nigeria’s readiness to plunge into this new technology-based terrain. Proponents of the bill are inclined to believe that it will give credibility to our elections while cynics think Nigeria is yet to come to terms with using this technology for elections. These positions may have been gathered from INEC’s performance with the voter’s card readers during the last general elections in 2015 when INEC decided to adopt smart card readers for voters’ accreditation.

Pakistan: Indian electronic voting machine scandal is forewarning for Pakistan | The News

The scandal of Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) system hounding the recent Indian elections is a timely forewarning for the Election Commission of Pakistan to desist from a complete switchover from the existing paper ballot system to the desired EVM. Official sources in the ECP told The News that although the commission was already not in favour of complete switchover, the reports coming from India have furthered their concerns. In their internal meetings, there is a consensus within the ECP that Pakistan should initially restrict itself to pilot projects under the EVM system. While different political parties, particularly the PTI, demand that the entire 2018 elections should be held under the EVM system, voices coming out of India make the system doubtful. Indian media reports showed that EVM had raised many questions during a mandatory mock poll in Jorhat when every time a button was pressed, the vote went in favour of BJP.

Russia: Russia wants India’s electronic voting machine technology for its 2018 presidential election | The Economic Times

Delhi’s close partner Russia is seeking to learn from India’s experience in conducting smooth polls through EVMs — this, at a time when the Opposition in India has raised the possibility of EVM tampering in the recently-concluded Assembly polls in five states. Moscow, it has been learnt, is keen to learn from India’s EVM technology experience ahead of the March 2018 presidential polls when Vladimir Putin will seek re-election.

Editorials: What a ballot-rigging conspiracy theory says about India’s toxic political climate | Nayanika Mathur/The Conversation

The headline story from India’s recent provincial elections was the staggering victory of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the state of Uttar Pradesh. But a range of politicians and observers, however, have claimed it wasn’t Modi’s charisma that won it for the BJP, but rigged voting machines. Normally, such claims – currently unproven – would be laughed off as nothing but sour grapes. But in this case, the conspiracy theory appears to have taken root. And that it has done so illuminates some deeper concerns with the state of Indian democracy. In Uttar Pradesh, the BJP annihilated all political opposition including the Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP), led by the Dalit icon Mayawati. Another surprise came in the state of Punjab, with a surprisingly poor performance by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), led by the current chief minister of Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal. It was widely expected to do better, having dramatically halted Modi’s momentum in the Delhi elections of February 2015.

Afghanistan: Foreign Experts Roped In To Help Assess e-Voting Plan | TOLOnews

The Independent Election Commission (IEC) will call in local, regional and international experts to assist with a strategic assessment around implementing an e-voting system, IEC officials said on Tuesday. The IEC operational deputy head, Wasima Badghisi, said the election commission will share the findings of this assessment with the public in the near future. She said there is a possibility that the next election will be held under the new plan. The call for help from international experts was aimed at identifying weaknesses and strengths of an e-voting system as well as its impacts on election transparency.

India: Election Commission should consider paper ballots in place of electronic voting machines: Congress | The Arunachal Times

The Congress on Monday said the Election Commission is only the arbiter and not the controller of the democratic process and asked the poll body to introspect and explore possibility of shifting voting from EVMs to the alternative system of paper ballots. The opposition party also said that the EC should not be an advocate for electronic voting machines (EVMs) and should conduct polls to the satisfaction of all stakeholders. A major row erupted last week over a video of a VVPAT demonstration by a poll official in Madhya Pradesh where the machine attached to an EVM allegedly dispensed slips of only BJP as the opposition demanded reverting to the old ballot paper system of voting while scrapping use of EVMs. There have been demands from various parties over the efficacy of EVMs following the spectacular victory of BJP in Uttar Pradesh and of Congress in Punjab.

India: Rajya Sabha: Congress demands electronic voting machine use be stopped immediately | Hindustan Times

The Congress became the latest party to demand a ban on electronic voting machines (EVMs) on Wednesday, two days after Aam Aadmi Party convener Arvind Kejriwal questioned the BJP’s election win in Uttar Pradesh, asking the Election Commission to release the devices for investigation into tampering allegations. During a heated debate in the Rajya Sabha over the use of EVMs, Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad said: “EVM should be stopped right now. In the upcoming civic polls of Delhi, assembly polls in Gujarat and other states EVMs should not be used.”

India: Take steps against EVMs soon, or people will lose faith in them: Congress to EC | Deccan Chronicle

The Congress on Sunday urged the Election Commission to discuss the matter of EVM tampering with all the political parties and take necessary step in the regard, before people lose their faith in the device altogether. Speaking to ANI here, Congress leader Hanumantha Rao said if Election Commission did not take adequate steps soon then people will soon stop believing in the voting machine. “Initially Mayawati questioned the EVMs and then Kejriwal. The leaders are alleging of EVM tampering because they did not get votes even in their bastions. The Election Commission after mulling over the issue with all parties should take necessary steps in the regard, otherwise people will stop trusting EVMs,” he added.

India: Congress Complains of ‘faulty electronic voting machine’ as Video of VVPAT generating wrong receipt in trial goes viral, EC orders probe | India.com

Following the media demonstration of the Electronic Voting Machines (EVM), which allegedly printed a BJP slip when Samajwadi Party button was pressed, leaders from the Congress party demanded a through investigation into the matter alleging the EVMs are faulty and can be tampered with. The trial on the EVMs were being conducted before the Ater bypolls in Madhya Pradesh. The Congress leaders alleged that the voter verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) system generated a slip with the BJP’s lotus symbol when CEO Saleena Singh, who was checking the arrangements, had pressed the button for the Samajwadi Party candidate. The Election Commission has also ordered a probe into the matter. The Congress party leaders have also said that they would approach the Election Commission for an inquiry. The Congress also demanded that by-elections to Ater and Bandhavgarh should be held via ballot paper and not EVMs.

Kansas: WSU statistician: New voting machines more tamper-resistant, but not perfect | The Wichita Eagle

Wichita State University statistician Beth Clarkson says Sedgwick County’s new voting machines leave less room for vote tampering than the old ones did, but still aren’t perfect. “It’s a step in the right direction,” said Clarkson, who has a doctorate in statistics and works as chief statistician at WSU’s National Institute for Aviation Research. “If we would audit (the machines), that would be another step in the right direction.” On the plus side, she said, the new machines do print paper ballots with the voters’ choices printed on them. That allows voters to review their ballots and verify their selections before they feed the cards into a separate counting machine. It also will make it possible to do a hand recount in future races if problems are suspected with the machine counts, she said. On the downside, Clarkson said, the votes are still counted by computerized machinery, which creates the possibility of hacking or tampering with the software to change the outcome. Clarkson is a leading skeptic of the vote counting in recent south-central Kansas elections, citing what she says have been statistical anomalies between precincts and conflicts with the results of exit polling she oversaw last year.

Nigeria: Senate amends electoral act, approves electronic voting | YNaija

The Senate Thursday passed amendments to the Electoral Act 2010, approving the use of electronic voting in future elections. It also approved that election results should be electronically transmitted to collation centers. The passage of bill followed the consideration of the report of the Senate Committee on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on a Bill for an Act to amend the Electoral Act No. 6, 2010 and for other related matters (SB 231 and SB 234). Major highlights of the new bill include provision for the use of electronic voting by INEC during future elections, use of Card Reader and also gives INEC power to modify the voting process if there is a challenge.

India: Electronic voting machine tampering issue: Supreme Court wants Election Commission’s reply within 4 weeks | India Today

The Supreme Court today sought a reply from the Election Commission over a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) alleging that the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) can be tampered with. The top court has asked the central poll panel to file its reply over the PIL within four weeks. The plea sought examination of the “quality, software/ malware and hacking effect in the EVMs from a reliable electronic lab/scientist and software expert and to file their report before this court for further action/prosecution”. In his PIL, advocate M L Sharma has also sought a direction to the Centre for registering an FIR to investigate the alleged tempering of EVMs “for vested interest by the political party and to file their report before the apex court”.

Kenya: Electoral Commission Defied Expert Advice in Sh3.8bn Polls Kit Tender | allAfrica

Electoral Commission chiefs went against the advice of their own tender evaluation committee and went ahead to award a Sh3.8 billion contract for the supply of voter technology to a French firm which had failed to meet the criteria set out in the bid document. The Nation has learnt that the firm – Safran Identity and Security – had been disqualified by a six-member committee set up to evaluate the bids by 10 companies that had expressed interest in supplying a system for voter identification and results transmission for the August 8 General Election. Despite the disqualification, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission announced last Friday that it had resolved to directly procure the election equipment from Safran, following the cancellation of a previous tender awarded to Gemalto SA – another French firm.

India: Election Commission served notice by top court on efficacy of Electronic Voting Machines | Times of India

The Supreme Court today served a notice to the Election Commission on a complaint filed seeking an investigation into the efficacy and accuracy of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) that some politicians recently said can be “easily manipulated.”
The top court however refused to grant the petitioner’s request to issue a notice to the CBI on the same issue. ML Sharma, the petitioner, had filed the petition after BSP leader Mayawati and then AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal raised questions about EVMs, saying their parties suffered big defeats in UP and Punjab, respectively, because of these machines that had been “tampered with”.

India: Electronic voting machine fraud? Roll out VVPATs, only way to silence doubting politicians, say ex-CECs | The Indian Express

Calling for a quick rollout of the Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machines in all polling stations across the country, former Chief Election Commissioners S Y Quraishi and H S Brahma have said that the paper trail system is the only way to silence politicians raising doubts over alleged tampering of electronic voting machines or EVMs. Speaking at The Indian Express Idea Exchange event on Monday (transcript will be published in The Sunday Express), Brahma said: “I personally feel worried when political parties and politicians question the credibility of voting machines. The credibility of EVMs has been established beyond doubt through court judgments. Having said that, I think, once we cover all polling stations with VVPATs, it will put an end to 90 per cent of the allegations leveled against EVMs and we will have the most dependable election process in the world.”

India: Letters for 2 years, SOS to PM, Election Commission still awaits paper trail funds | The Indian Express

In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi four months ago, the Election Commission sought urgent release of funds to procure enough Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machines to cover all polling stations ahead of the next Lok Sabha elections in 2019. The EC has sent over 10 reminders to the government on the matter, since June 2014, and the letter to Modi by Chief Election Commissioner Nasim Zaidi, on October 25, 2016, was an SOS of sorts. The CEC very rarely writes directly to the PM, with its communication to the government on electoral matters normally limited to Law and Home ministries. Several parties, including the BSP, Samajwadi Party and Aam Aadmi Party, have raised doubts about tampering of EVMs following the Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand results. Before the 2014 general elections, the BJP had talked of EVM tampering on many occasions.

Indonesia: Visiting Indonesian lawmakers find Germany no longer implementing e-voting | The Jakarta Post

During its working visit to Germany, the special committee tasked with deliberating the election bill found that the country was no longer implementing e-voting because it was prone to hacking. The committee was on a controversial working visit to Germany and Mexico, from March 11 to 16. “We confirmed in Germany that e -voting is just as problematic. There is no supporting data and its prone to hacking,” committee member Johnny G. Plate said at the legislative complex in Senayan, as quoted by kompas.com on Monday.

Editorials: The great electronic voting machine debate: Convincing the losers that they lost | Poorvi L Vora/Scroll.in

Accusations about the tampering of Electronic Voting Machines continue to be in news. India’s EVMs have been carefully designed to avoid some of the well-known security problems with electronic voting machines in the West. But it is difficult to agree with Former Chief Election Commissioner SY Quraishi’s assertion that all the Election Commission needs to do is double down and more forcefully insist that the EVMs are secure because that is what they believe. It is not about what insiders trust to be true about voting technology, but about what has been demonstrated to be true to the public about a particular election. Besides, no EVM, including the Indian ones, can be assumed to be invulnerable to a determined attacker. While India’s EVM design makes it harder to implement large-scale attacks, all EVMs do not have to be rigged. Machines judiciously chosen in constituencies that are more favorable to rigging, with the collusion of local individuals, after the random allocation described by Quraishi, could be sufficient. Additionally, in a country with a very efficient counterfeit mafia, we cannot expect that printed paper seals will always expose tampering efforts, because they can be replaced with counterfeit ones.

New Jersey: Lawmakers want to require ‘paper trail’ for voting machines | NJ.com

A group of state lawmakers wants to re-enforce an old requirement that voting machines in New Jersey produce a paper trail. A bill introduced in the state Assembly would require new voting machines purchased or leased after its passage to produce a paper record of each vote cast. A law passed more than a decade ago requiring hard copies of vote tallies was later suspended for lack of funding. The bill’s sponsors said in a statement that electronic machines that produce a paper record are now more widely commercially available.

India: Is banning electronic voting machines the solution? Should India follow The West? | Businessworld

Political leaders who lost the recent state elections – Mayawati and Harish Rawat among them have alleged the electronic voting machines were tampered with. Arvind Kejriwal too questioned the use of the electronic method of gathering votes. Now, Akhilesh Yadav and Rahul Gandhi also seem to be indulging in the theory. Is there a possibility of rigging electoral outcomes in a general election to the Lok Sabha? This question has arisen not only because of the unexpected number of seats won or lost by some parties in the recent contest. It is accentuated by the recent news from many western nations doubting the integrity of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and bringing back the ‘old-fashioned ballot system’. Let’s look at the situation from a different angle. What is our idea of democracy based on? (1) Free and fair elections (2) Equal voting rights (3) Right to represent ourselves. Well, these and others would only stand straight if the vote gathering process is transparent enough for the citizens to believe in it.

India: Election Commission should probe into electronic voting machine tampering charges: Congress | The Economic Times

The Congress today said the Election Commission should probe into the EVM tampering charges made by some parties to ensure that voters’ confidence is not shattered and there is no blot on India’s democracy. “If any party has doubts over efficacy of EVMs, it is the Election Commission’s duty to hold a probe. The EC’s first responsibility is the voters should have confidence that the vote cast by them reaches the person they want,” Congress spokesperson Sushmita Dev said. “India is the largest democracy and we take pride in that. We should not allow any blot on it. The Election Commission should hold an investigation and we do not have any objection,” she said. Asked if the Congress is ready for a probe in Punjab too where the AAP is alleging EVM tampering, she said her party has the confidence and does not fear any investigation.

Zimbabwe: ‘No e-voting in Zimbabwe’s 2018 elections,’ says Makarau | Bulawayo24

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) is not intending to use e-voting in the 2018 harmonised elections although it is intending to procure biometric registration kits to register voters. In an interview, ZEC chairperson Justice Rita Makarau said the biometric kits being acquired by government will only be used to capture the usual identity details plus the finger prints in order to improve the credibility of the voters roll and avoid disputed election results. Biometric voter registration (BVR) is expected to capture voters’ unique biometric features, specifically fingerprints and facial imaging which will be recorded in a database.

India: CDAC working on electronic voting machines for voting from any place | Times of India

An electronic voting machine (EVM) that lets a person vote from the nearest polling booth anywhere in the country for a candidate in his constituency is what the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing is working on at present.
The outgoing director general Rajat Moona said, “We have submitted a proposal to the ministry. No work has been done as yet, and no talks have been held with Election Commission either.” Moona, on how the machine may work, said, “We are still researching. Probably, if a voter goes to the nearest polling station, he can tell the presiding officer his state, district and constituency he wants to cast his vote in. The presiding officer will key in the information into the EVMs which may show the list of candidates and party symbols in the constituency registered in the voter’s name and he can cast his vote.” On allegations of EVM tampering, Moona said, “The machine has no antenna to receive or transmit messages. Every machine goes through three mock tests and is kept in high security vaults.”

New Jersey: New bill would require New Jersey voting machines to leave paper trail | News 12

Four Democrats in the New Jersey Assembly have introduced a bill that would require voting machines to leave a paper trail of each vote cast. Assemblyman Andrew Zwicker says previous equipment failures and programming errors have resulted in costly disputes that cast doubt on election results. Zwicker says paper records would assure voters that their ballots are counted properly “We want to give people confidence that when they vote, their vote counts and that it went toward the person they were intending to vote for,” Zwicker says.

India: Election Commission dismisses electronic voting machine tampering allegations by BSP | Tech2

The Election Commission (EC) has refuted the allegations of tampering of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), as levelled by BSP supremo Mayawati on Saturday. The EC said that the EVMs could not be tampered with and that candidates are allowed to randomly check the machines before the actual voting. “The machine is both mechanically and electronically protected to prevent any tampering/manipulation. The programme used in these machines is burnt into a one time programmable chip so that it cannot be altered or tampered with,” the EC said in its reply to Mayawati.

India: Elections: Why is the BJP opposed to the ‘Totaliser’ machine? | National Herald

How important is it for political parties to know how many people have voted for them in each polling booth? Not much, felt the Election Commission and the Law Commission, which recommended that votes polled in 14 booths be counted together with the help of a Totaliser machine developed by Bharat Electronics and Electronic Corporation of India, manufacturers of Electronic Voting Machines. Putting an end to booth-wise counting would help enhance secrecy and prevent the harassment of voters, felt the two Commissions. “Using a totaliser would increase the secrecy of votes during counting, thus preventing the disclosure of voting patterns and countering fears of intimidation and victimisation,” said the Law Commission in its recommendation. It could also have made counting faster and eventually reduced cost.

Iran: Plans to Hold Iran Presidential Election ‘Fully Electronically’ Shelved | Tasnim News Agency

Spokesmen for Iran’s Guardian Council ruled out the possibility that the presidential election, slated for May 19, will be held with electronic voting machines in the whole polling stations, citing security issues. In an interview with the Tasnim News Agency on Friday, Abbasali Kadkhodaei said the upcoming presidential election will definitely not be held fully electronically. An “all-electronic” election requires the Interior Ministry to make arrangements to ensure the security, quality and health of the polls, he noted, adding that given the short time remaining until the polls, the May 19 presidential election will not be held fully electronically.

India: Election Commission plans to replace all pre-2006 EVMs with advanced M3 machines | The Economic Times

With Prime Minister Narendra Modi having advocated simultaneous Lok Sabha and state assembly polls in several of his public speeches and President Pranab Mukherjee lending him support, sufficient background is being created for the roll out of this major election makeover. While the Election Commission of India waits for the government to take more concrete legal action, it is alongside readying the new age EVM to take on the challenge. The latest avatar of the Electronic Voting Machine is called ‘M3’ and the Election Commission is looking to ramp up its production ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. The plans are to replace all pre 2006 EVMs with the M3- a more sophisticated machine with built in self diagnostics, minimal chances of machine failure and the ability to clamp shut the moment any tampering effort is made.