Oregon: Online voting? Probably by 2020, Secretary of State Kate Brown says | OregonLive.com

Secretary of State Kate Brown says Oregon isn’t quite ready for online voting. But it will be soon enough. She even has a year in mind. “I believe by 2020 there will be electronic voting,” Brown said Thursday at Riverwood Assisted Living Center in Tualatin, where she met with Washington County election workers to help elderly voters cast their ballots.  Already there are signs that Oregon, the first state to embrace mail-only voting, is starting to move away from paper. The secretary of state’s office has been dipping its toes into Internet voting technology, although Brown acknowledges advances would be necessary — both in cyber security and voter confidence — for a fully-fledged electronic system to work. Brown acknowledged she has some security concerns about a completely computerized system, however. The paper trail left by mail-in ballots is more transparent and leaves an easy way for county clerks to conduct a recount if necessary, she said. Voters can even go see the ballots counted in person.

Wisconsin: Wisconsin election reports reveal complainants’ violations, find no fraud | Journal Times

The various claims of recall election fraud were found to be baseless, according to sheriff’s investigators’ reports, which revealed no criminal conduct but rather complainants’ own violations. Following the June 5 recalls in which state Sen. John Lehman, D-Racine, unseated Republican incumbent Van Wanggaard in the 21st Senate District race, multiple allegations of irregularities at area polls had surfaced, followed by prominent state Republicans calling the local efforts “an utter mockery.”

Canada: Online voting system mulled in Alberta | Sherwood Park News

Strathcona County council gave its thumbs up at a meeting on April 24 to a partnership with the City of Edmonton and the City of St. Albert to establish an internet voting pilot project for the 2013 municipal election. Jacqueline Roblin, manager of Strathcona County Legislative and Legal Services (LLS), stated in her presentation to council that the pilot would be applied to solely the special ballot process for those people who will be absent from the jurisdiction during the 2013 election. She noted that administration wants to add an amendment allowing for any voter to vote through this process. “We’re taking it in a very small portion of our election so that we can test out our systems and that will gradually start to build voter confidence in the process,” Roblin said.

Russia: Elections Chief Vladimir Churov Admits Astrakhan Violations | The Moscow Times

Elections chief Vladimir Churov raised opposition hopes of overturning Astrakhan’s mayoral election by announcing widespread procedural violations, a claim made by candidate Oleg Shein and his supporters. Video footage revealed procedural violations at 128 of the city’s 202 polling stations during the March 4 vote, although there was no evidence of falsification, Churov told journalists Friday. The announcement was greeted with jubilation by Shein, whose refusal to concede the election to the ruling party candidate and a dramatic hunger strike have turned him into an opposition hero. “Our chances of success in court have been significantly improved,” he wrote on his blog. “Now I’m confident that the court will annul the election in Astrakhan.” Shein says he defeated United Russia’s Mikhail Stolyarov in districts with electronic counting machines as well as in exit polls, sparking allegations that the vote was rigged. Officially, Shein lost the election to Stolyarov by more than 30 percentage points.

Egypt: Elections 101: Egypt’s new electoral system explained | Daily News Egypt

Egypt’s electoral system is “complicated and difficult for any ordinary Egyptian to comprehend and implement,” experts believe, as political powers remain optimistic that it will help them secure a place in a parliament long dominated by members of the former regime.

The first parliamentary elections following the ouster of president Hosni Mubarak are expected to attract an electorate that traditionally boycotted elections. Over 18 million Egyptians voted in a referendum in March, an indication of voter confidence in a new era free of the rigging and electoral fraud that tainted the previous one. However, voters are concerned that they will find it difficult to figure out the system, which could ultimately spoil their vote.

Kenya: IBM completes e-services master plan for Kenya including e-voting system | Daily Nation

Kenya’s masterplan on how to utilize technology to become a middle income country by 2030 is ready. An international team from IBM’s Corporate Services Corps program has completed a month-long term in Kenya to prepare the plan that would also see Kenya fully digitize its voting system.

This comes days after the government launched an open data portal providing crucial information on government services, income and expenditure to the public. The masterplan complements government’s efforts to digitize records to enhance e-services delivery.

The IBM team also laid out a framework on how citizens can access government services via mobile phones through data digitization. The digitization of records means citizens can track public expenditure to the last shilling. You will for example know what I have been paid and for what purpose.  Of course I also talked about e-procurement and judiciary.

Kosovo: Results from the 2011 Post-Election Survey in Kosovo | IFES

Post-Election Public Opinion in Kosovo 2011, IFES’ third post-election survey in the country since 2008, is now available. The poll captures the perspectives of Kosovo citizens on matters such as perceptions of democracy, opinions on the December 2010 elections, and assessments of the overall situation in the country.

These IFES surveys have provided much insight into the evolution of opinions of Kosovo citizens from immediately prior to the country’s declaration of independence in 2008 to this year. The data not only gives a pulse of the country, but is a thorough gauge of public opinion on the country’s advancing electoral process and democracy.