IT Editorial against current E-voting system

vinnyfitz

Today's Irish Times has an editorial that summarises concerns about e-voting and ends up saying:

The introduction of such a security back up arrangement (Voter verifiable audit trail) would no doubt cost money. But the need to preserve public confidence in our electoral system must override any considerations of cost

Anyone with on-line access want to post full content?

Also Fine Gael have now called for an independent electoral commission to supervise electronic voting.

star gazer

here is a link to some extra comment and an IT article plus a speech to the oireachtas committee on environment:security

There is a really big €4.5 million PR contract to make us comfortable with the new e system for voting. It will be interesting to see if that type of money afffects editorial comment. There hasn't been much media comment on evoting so far.

star gazer

Today FM are to do a story on evoting today (wed).
Also evoting to be discussed again tommorrow at oireachtas committee on Environment.

tricky D

Unfortunately I can't find the article on their site but yesterday's Examiner had something about a virus getting into the same system which is used in the Dail to count a whole 166 votes, despite only having been connected to the Oireachtas network, not phones lines or the internet

the mind boggles at the incompetence

It also said something about Martin Cullen being both Min for Environment with responsibility for e-voting and yet he is also the FF Director of Elections.

My mind no longer gets boggled by that sort of thing

and all the e4.5M in PR dosh won't change the facts that it is a systems based on one othe earliest versions of MS Access, is documented in Dutch with no back up verification possible and a few other things

pity is that evoting could actually work really well if poperly executed

star gazer

originally posted be tricky D
My mind no longer gets boggled by that sort of thing

it is a bad sign for all of us. The program on today fm was good it had Bernard allen, Noel whelan and a professor from johns hopkins university in america. Allen talked about the need for a independent commission instead of the Fianna Fáil director of elections overseeing the introduction, Whelan said if it ain't broke , don't fix it ie stick with existing system and the professor said he didn't trust e voting systems.

If the governemnt don't heed the warnings we could have a huge problem in June.

dahamsta

16/12/03
E-voting plan continues despite Dáil system failure

By Fionnán Sheahan, Political Reporter
THE electronic voting system in Dáil Éireann failed after being infected by a computer virus this year, it emerged yesterday, prompting fears over the security of the nationwide system for next year's elections.

Ceann Comhairle Dr Rory O'Hanlon has confirmed the Dáil system failed in February due to a computer virus despite not being connected to either phone or internet lines.

Responding to queries from Fine Gael environment spokesman Bernard Allen, Dr O'Hanlon said it is believed the virus entered via a connection to the Oireachtas IT network.

"Since that incident remedial measures have been taken to prevent this happening again," he said.

But Deputy Allen says that if the Government can't get electronic voting right in a small closed system involving just the votes of 166 TDs, then the public cannot have confidence in the ability to provide a secure system for a national election.

According to Minister Cullen's spokesperson, the Department of the Environment has invested in expertise and the system is completely secure.

Already a watchdog committee of TDs and Senators has urged Minister for the Environment Martin Cullen not to spend any more money on the roll-out of the system nationally for the local and European elections until outstanding concerns are addressed.

The Oireachtas Committee on the Environment is currently investigating the electronic voting system and has called on the minister to halt further expenditure until proceedings are concluded and it has issued findings.

Electronic voting will be extended country-wide for the local elections, after the minister said it was successfully tested in the general election and Nice referendum of 2002. Next year, the minister will spend €4.5 million publicising the use of the system.

Yet Deputy Allen said that as Minister Cullen is the Fianna Fáil Director of Elections next June, the Department of the Environment is not the appropriate body to introduce electronic voting and an Independent Electoral Commission should have been set up to manage the changeover to electronic voting.

"It wouldn't happen in any other democracy in the world that the organisation of the elections is in the hands of the manager of a political party's campaign," he said.

Accusing the Government of rushing headlong to introduce electronic voting for next year's local and European elections, he said there are ongoing concerns regarding the security of the system and there has been a lack of consultation with the parties involved in the electoral process, and more importantly, with the public.

"One thing that I am certain of is that this Government is untrustworthy, so therefore I am insisting on full transparency and full information on this issue," he said.

star gazer

The Environment committee voted 9-4 to accept electronic voting for June, even yesterday an expert from was telling them the voting system was just not safe. Last week the committee were calling for a halt to any more spending on machines, this wrrk they are happy with the entire process. What else is there to be said the government have spoken and that is that.
my mind boggles.

seamus

If the Dáil system got infected without being connected to the internet, it means one of three things:- 1) It's connected to another machine which is connected to the Internet, which means it is connected to the net, and the issue is to do with network security 2) Someone loaded a virus onto it from removable media, which is a physical security issue or 3) It wasn't a virus, but a system crash.

1 and 2 are pretty likely, 3 less so, but not unheard of if the IT staff are incompentent. Either way, none of them have anything to do with system reliability. There is no reason why e-voting couldn't be carried out over https using Apache and Linux, and having the voting machines connected to a central DB over a VLAN.

The only severe unreliability which exists in the security of the system sits on a chair and bangs blindly at the buttons.

star gazer

originally posted by seamus
The only severe unreliability which exists in the security of the system sits on a chair and bangs blindly at the buttons.

Is that the software programmer, the guy checking IDs, the holder of the source code, the political head of the department who is fianna fail director of elections, or the voter?

seamus

Originally posted by star gazer
Is that the software programmer, the guy checking IDs, the holder of the source code, the political head of the department who is fianna fail director of elections, or the voter?

All of the above (except the source holder - the code should be in the public domain) add insecurity. User error is by far the easiest way to expose security.

dahamsta

The Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Heritage, and Local Government voted 9-4 yesterday to back the introduction of the new electronic voting system next June. Time to start kicking up a fuss I'm afraid.

adam

star gazer

originally posted by da hamsta
Time to start kicking up a fuss I'm afraid.

Today fm did have Nora owen on last night talking about evoting and how she wasn't impressed by it at all. Just when she was going to give us a question on evoting that at least in the build up was sounding convincing was suddenly cut off by gremlins.

dahamsta

Apparently a forum has been set up to discuss this issue in the Activsm section on Boards.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?forumid=425

There's also a pre-existing mailing list and a website:

http://lists.stdlib.net/mailman/listinfo/e-voting
http://evoting.cs.may.ie/

adam