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Tech & society

Ireland quashes e-voting

Earlier this week, Ireland moved to ban the use of electronic voting equipment purchased for June elections. The decision, based on a report from the Commission on Electronic Voting, puts the €52m purchase on ice.

Ireland has purchased e-voting machines from PowerVote, a UK firm. The web site touts the lack of “ballot papers” as a feature.

The system (already purchased, just like in California) could not be judged reliable because of a long list of reasons which include the following:

  • Limited “end-to-end” testing of the full system
  • No independent “end-to-end” testing
  • No parallel testing in a real election (compare results of the two systems)
  • No certification by an “accredited testing and certification authority”
  • Software not yet finalized
  • Commission unable to access source code
  • Ineffective electronic security measures

Links: Ireland Online (4 May); NewsForge (3 May)

By Kathy E. Gill

Digital evangelist, speaker, writer, educator. Transplanted Southerner; teach newbies to ride motorcycles! @kegill

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