Prompted by Paradice, a few words about electronic voting or voting on the internet.
The conversation started about having broadband available for everyone and everywhere. In my opinion, this would enable government to serve it’s citizens online. Governing functions serving more effectively, efficiently and perhaps, exclusively online. We all know that enabling users to self service themselves through online resources is a huge money saver. That is why your utility companies, ISPs and banks are enabling the online services. Not because they want to serve you better, but because they need to save money. So do the governments. The issue of having a broadband everywhere is a neccessity anyway, the issue is just the timeline – to have it now or later. In the middleof a global recession, now is a better alternative than later.
This led into myself suggesting that voting could be done online. This has been trialled in Finland and the results were less than encouraging. Nevertheless, it can be done, should be done and again, the question is just about doing it now or later. Surely a working online voting system would be better than the Afgan ink in the thumb way. Or the disaster of the US holepunch cards system. Or the EU parliament system, in which I myself voted twice (in the country of residency as well as the country of nationality). The computer based system used in the US was doomed in 2006 by a Finnish computer expert, stating that effectively, the system was made to enable tampering with.
Having said all that, in order to be able to vote online, the existing access to internet for all is not nearly enough. The system in place must be tamper-proof. Also, a strong mechanism for authentication must be in place already. Finland has this. My online bank authentication enables me to a whole array of services, not just my banking. I can subscribe to magazines, broadband, receive my post electronically, change my name and a whole lot of other government and private services. And yes, vote.
But back to England, there is still a long way to go, I just got my first checkbook from my bank, by post. I have yet to receive my bank accont details, online banking details or anything of that sort. I was in the bank with my two forms of ID, recent utility bill and all that almost a month ago. As in so many services, there has to be a strong base to build on, in order to enable the successful building of additional services. I would not advice the electronic voting in the commonwealth any time soon. I would be surprised if I had to vote via pen and paper in Finland – ever again.
