Expert weighs in on online voting discussion
Posted January 13, 2011 1:18 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – Online voting has been suggested by two BC politicians, but an internet and privacy expert warns there are risks to be considered:
Has your vote actually been counted? Did it only go in once? Was there any interference along the way?
Those concerns are being raised by Richard Rosenberg with UBC, who’s written about web-submitted ballot trials in the US. Another concern is high-profile failures like the BCLC PlayNow site.
He points out, “If it crashes on voting day, that’s a horrendous situation. What [would you] start doing now? Voting is supposed to be a single day when everyone gets their chance to vote. Are you going to have voting on the following day?”
Rosenberg says while online voting would encourage a youth vote, the system would have to be completely kink-free, isolated, and monitored to prevent security breaches.
Online voting has been suggested by Surrey mayor Dianne Watts and Liberal leadership candidate Christy Clark.
