Director General of Quebec Elections calls electronic voting a 'Disaster'

[whirlygigspin]

http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2006/10/25/voting-results.html

"Quebec's chief electoral officer is urging the province to stop using electronic voting systems.

The election was an expensive disaster marked by errors, which produced inaccurate numbers and unreliable results, the report said. And the new electronic system is to blame, it adds."


Evaluation Report of the New Methods of Voting
http://www.electionsquebec.qc.ca/en/nouvelleDetail.asp?id=2153&typeN=2

- The Chief Electoral Officer Sets Very Stringent Conditions for the Future Use of Electronic Voting if it is Maintained, includes:

That the legislation governing the use of these methods of voting must be reviewed and better defined, including the memoranda of understanding signed by the municipalities with the Chief Electoral Officer and the Minister of Municipal Affaires and Regions.

Rigorous technical specifications as well as security and reliability norms and standards must be adopted before any future use of a new method of voting. A group of experts must be created in this respect.
An independent authority must be vested with a mandate to monitor and the powers to audit and control the norms and standards related to the new methods of voting.

competent authorities should have access to the programming codes and source codes of the software used in the voting systems;

the implementation of mandatory and complete tests on all equipment to be used in an election;
the establishment of backup plans covering all potential problems;

the swearing in of all those responsible for programming and installing systems and software and providing technical support and troubleshooting;

the implementation of strict measures for the storage and safekeeping of systems used;
the adoption of measures aimed at ensuring that, after the election, the supplier destroys data recorded on the electronic voting systems.


links to the reports and news conferences:
http://www.electionsquebec.qc.ca/en/nouvelleDetail.asp?id=94&typeN=1
Video link: (in French)
http://diffusion.assnat.qc.ca/video/CONF/CONF20061024MB...

[kedrys]

1. K, I'm gonna take back some of the things I've said about my peeps over the years

They seem to have it totally together on this one. Thanks for the link!

[kster]

2. This guy is either a sore loser, or a conspiracy theorist

for gods sake all you need is a couple random audits and everything will be just fine. :sarcasm: K and R......

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/09/06/govt_voting/