[ICTE] MINISTER SEEKS TO MAKE POLITICAL FOOTBALL OUT OF ELECTRONIC
VOTING
Dermot Casey
dermot at 10thmonth.net
Thu Feb 12 17:29:14 GMT 2004
MINISTER SEEKS TO MAKE POLITICAL FOOTBALL OUT OF ELECTRONIC VOTING
"Almost on a daily basis new issues are raised with e-voting as touted
benefits disappear when subjected to scrutiny" according to Dermot Casey
of Irish Citizens for Trustworthy E-Voting (ICTE). Some supporters of
e-Voting have claimed that e-Voting will be more accurate, as it will
remove the "random" aspect of surplus distribution inherent in the
current system. However, Minister Cullen T.D. has confirmed to the Dáil
that ``in the case of surpluses, we only take the particular portion of
those that were transferred. We are maintaining the traditional system
in the election next year. If there is a view that we should go much
deeper, legislation will be required to change the situation.''"[1]
Government spokespersons have also claimed that the system has been
"tested" by 400,000 voters at the second Nice Treaty referendum, and
that no-one complained about the "veracity" of the results. Adrian
Colley, a software engineer and ICTE member, said "It is logically
impossible to evaluate the results of such a test without independent
knowledge of the votes cast. Furthermore, if the e-voting system were
in fact rigged at the referendum, there would have been no visible
evidence that could have formed the basis for any complaint."
It was revealed last week [2] that there were 400 "invalid votes"
recorded in the 6 Dublin constituencies that used e-Voting in the 2nd
Nice Referendum, despite official results reporting "0 Spoiled Votes".
ICTE points out that in the absence of voter verifiable audit trail
(VVAT) we do not know really how the machines responded to the putative
votes, and that other more serious problems may be concealed by the
software which is still under revision.
Minister Cullen T.D. has claimed that until recently there was "broad
political consensus" for the e-voting system. Mr Colley of ICTE
responds saying that the record of the Oireachtas shows concerns being
expressed through debate and parliamentary question since February 2001,
when Senator Feargal Quinn said[4] "However, it does not provide for any
means I stand to be corrected to allow us to inspect whether the
translation of the voter's intentions into digital impulses was properly
carried out. The new system will require an act of faith that the
current system does not require. The vast majority of people will make
this act of faith but whether they are right to do so is another
matter." Mr Colley added, "Careful observers will also have noticed
that the Bill was passed by use of the guillotine procedure against the
wishes of the Opposition, who were preoccupied with the same Bill's
provisions relating to political donations."
Mr Casey of ICTE notes that with approximately EUR600 per machine being
spent on convincing people of the value of e-voting, serious questions
have been raised over why a fraction of this money was not spent on
ensuring that the system contained a voter verifiable audit trail
(VVAT), which would ensure the integrity of the process.
These points were recently highlighted by the internationally renowned
expert on e-voting Dr Rebecca Mercuri. Dr Mercuri reiterated the
critical importance of checks and balances in all computer systems and
noted "There's an audit trail in every other aspect of computing; it's a
part of computer security, and we need an audit trail. An audit trail
is essential to maintaining computer security, and by eliminating the
audit trail you have absolutely no way of assuring yourself or the
voters--- It may seem like everything is working perfectly, but what
we've found is that invisibly inside these computers, when we do audit
them, we find that sometimes they're subtracting votes, they're adding
votes from one candidate to another, and you have no way of confirming
that if you do not have an independent audit trail. Not an audit trail
that's printed out by the computer, but an audit trail that the voter
actually sees which is compared against the computer result. You have
no way of performing that actual audit. You do that in every other
aspect of business and government, you have audits, and those are
performed as a necessity." In debate[3] with Minister for Health
Micheal Martin, Dr. Mercuri put the Minister on the back foot, forcing
him to concede the "need to go forward on this issue collectively with
all political parties involved".
Catherine Ansbro, ICTE member based in Co. Roscommon notes that the
frantic rush to implement a flawed technology illustrates that that
Government neither understands technology nor appreciates the subtleties
in developing software. She comments, "The current approach leads one to
believe that the Minister is so convinced in the absolute infallibility
of computer software and hardware, and the absolute incorruptability of
everyone associated with the development, handling and storage of our
electronic voting system, that he feels non-electronic rechecks will
never be needed. The experience elsewhere in the world strongly
suggests otherwise. The Government should add VVAT in time for the
local elections. There is still time to do this. As commented by Bruce
Clarke an ICTE member "the minister's enthusiasm for e-government is
reminiscent of a middle-aged father who thinks he's cool dancing at a
teenage disco!"
The concerns will be underlined when Margaret McGaley, spokesperson of the
ICTE, will tell the European Commission's eDemocracy seminar on Friday
morning the 13th of February,2004 "The people must be able to satisfy
themselves that their voting system is trustworthy, verifiable, and
transparent." As Ms McGaley will note "The change from paper to
electronic records is not simply a matter of changing the storage
medium. It is much more fundamental: the introduction of a computer
system between voter and vote denies the voter tangible evidence that
their vote has been recorded correctly."
Margaret McGaley is available for interview:
email: mmcgaley at cs.may.ie
phone: 087 755 4023
Dermot Casey is available for interview:
email: dermot at 10thmonth.net
phone: 085 148 1832
Adrian Colley is available for interview:
email: aecolley at spamcop.net
phone: 087 247 7858
Catherine Ansbro is available for interview:
(094) 9870974 or (087) 2047625
ICTE has a website available at
http://evoting.cs.may.ie
ICTE's main goals are:
* to ensure that any electronic voting system introduced in Ireland
* meets the following criteria
o includes a Voter Verified Audit Trail (VVAT),
o a booth is used, analogous to the traditional polling booth,
o all development uses formal methods,
o all source code is open to public scrutiny and audit.
* to prevent the use of the Nedap/Powervote system in Irish
* Elections until it meets said criteria
* to prevent the purchase of any more equipment or software from
Nedap/Powervote by the Irish Government unless the system being
purchased meets said criteria.
[1] Dáil Éireann, 2003-11-26, parliamentary question no. 49.
[2] Liveline, RTÉ Radio One, 2004-02-06.
[3] Saturday View, RTÉ Radio One, 2004-02-07.
[4] Seanad Éireann, 2001-02-21, Electoral (Amendment) Bill, 2000 (2nd
stage).
--
Dermot Casey
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