Internet voting won’t be a part of the political process in this November’s civic election in Vancouver, The Province has learned. The mayor’s office was notified earlier this week. “We’re disappointed that the pilot project for online voting will not be in place for this fall’s election, as we believe it provides a great opportunity to expand citizen engagement,” Mayor Gregor Robertson told The Province.
…But there are also risks that need to be carefully considered and addressed before we can move forward. “These risks include: the vulnerability of Internet voting to service disruptions or hacker attacks; authentication of voter identity without jeopardizing anonymity of the vote; and protecting voters from intimidation or coercion when they are exercising their franchise away from the transparent environment of a physical voting place,” said the letter acquired by The Province.
Earlier, NPA mayoral candidate Suzanne Anton urged the province to reject the city’s request to use Internet voting for advanced polls.
“The discussions I’ve had with experts confirm that Internet voting at the moment is bad policy for two key reasons,” Anton said. “When an Internet vote is cast, you don’t know what happens to that vote, and you don’t know who is pushing the button.
“That kind of uncertainty undermines citizens’ faith in the democratic process,” said Anton.
Full Article: Voters will not be casting ballots online in November.