Both Bill Shorten and Malcolm Turnbull surprised a few people yesterday when they both said that given the length of time it has taken to resolve the 2016 election, it was perhaps time to look at electronic voting again. Ms Tips hears that this was somewhat out of the blue, and it seems as though both Shorten and Turnbull must have discussed it in their phone call just before Shorten conceded the election.
This got a mixed response on social media on Sunday, with some declaring it an inevitability, while others warning of the dangers of an opaque system of voting, and that the potential loss of a secret vote could outweigh any benefits of electronic voting. When Parliament resumes there will be, as there always is, another inquiry into the election, where no doubt electronic voting will be front and centre. This is what the last committee had to say about the prospect of electronic voting:
“The foundations of Australia’s voting system—compulsory voting, widespread and easy access to polling booths and polling day held on a Saturday—are robust. Electronic voting would fundamentally change not just the method, but the nature of voting in Australia.
The Committee believes that it is likely that technology will evolve to the point that it will be possible to vote electronically in federal elections. At that stage the question for a future Parliament, and the voting public, will be whether the convenience of electronic voting outweighs the risks to the sanctity of the ballot.
The view of this Committee is that the answer to this question at this time is that no, it does not.”
Even with open source voting software there could be problems with patched terminals, man-in-the-middle attacks and spoofing.
Are you suggesting we do nothing because it might go wrong? Do you bank online? Do you read crikey online, Do you buy stuff online? Do you use a computer in the course of your daily work? I’m looking forward to the day I can grab my computer vote on the appointed day and never stand in another polling queue again. The count would be completed on election day. I can’t see a negative here anywhere.
They can’t hack a terminal that isn’t connected to the internet. Set up the terminals in the polling booth, and load the totals onto USB keys afterwards to be driven to the same office that the papers are currently driven to.
Or copy them to a secure laptop, and upload from there. The never-unconnected terminal will remain as a safe check for verification after polling night.
Oops should say “never connected”