A working party has recommended online voting trials be conducted in New Zealand local body elections in 2016, but concluded broad availability is “not feasible” for that election round. The working party, established last September, was a a response to calls from the Justice and Electoral Committee of Parliament, some local authorities, Local Government New Zealand and the New Zealand Society of Local Government Managers to conduct a trial of online voting for local authority elections. “We do not think that broad implementation of an online voting option in the 2016 local elections is feasible.” It was asked to consider the options, costs, and security issues involved in online voting and the feasibility of implementing it for New Zealand’s 2016 local elections. The working group decided a broad roll out is not feasible as the 2016 election will be the first real opportunity to conduct a trial of what could be relatively untested technology.
… “No ICT system is perfect, and absolute security on the internet is not achievable. Online voting systems should be ‘secure enough’ to support their use and that this judgement should be supported by a detailed threat analysis which is developed and maintained throughout the delivery process.
Associate local government minister Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga said the Department of Internal Affairs would analyse the working party’s recommendations and report back to Cabinet in November. “It is essential for us to examine carefully the associated costs, practicalities and most importantly the security of online voting,” Lotu-Iiga said.
Last week, the Australian Electoral Commission warned it did not have the capability to carry out an e-voting trial ahead of the next Federal elections there.
Full Article: Working group nixes drive for online voting in 2016 | ZDNet.