[bootlegga]

It's not that bad an idea, but I'd set it up so that online voting took place before election day to make sure hacking/fradulent voting didn't occur.

If it was scheduled for a week or two in advance (like advance polling is), there would still be time to deal with an attempted hack as well as ensure that people didn't vote twice/incorrectly.

One thing I'd love to see is more interaction with government decision-making online.

Don Tapscott suggested using a forum to propose ideas for the government to pursue to engage younger voters. His idea was something like this - the government announces it is looking for opinions/solutions about Issue A. Anyone who wants to, can visit Gov.ca/forum and input his/her idea for dealing with issue A (like a platform).

After a week or two, the thread is locked and people can only vote on the different platforms/solutions proposed. The government then examines the top 5 or top 10 (ranked by voting) as a possible solution to Issue A. A caveat is that the government is not pre-disposed to use any of those solutions and may instead choose another option.

Still, it allows people to feel that their voice was heard and would probably make younger people more interested in voting and how this country is run.

[Tricks]

Brenda Brenda:

Why does it matter that it is only open for a period of time? Does that mean they can't secure it like they can online banking? I call BS.

Because with a DDOS attack, it can be made unavailable for that entire time. Then what do we do?

$1:

I agree nothing is flawless, but it's not flawless now either. You can still send your vote through snail mail. That's really secure, huh. No one can mess with that, and you are SURE your vote will be delivered by the mailman. Did I mention I am STILL waiting for a package that was sent to me over 2 years ago?

Honestly, even if the mail votes were going to be fucked with, that takes too long and requires too much organization to do, at least on the scale that can change and election.

[DanSC]

bootlegga bootlegga:

Anyone who wants to, can visit Gov.ca/forum and input his/her idea for dealing with issue A (like a platform).

Now you're asking for disaster. It'll descend into a mix of the Fox News comments section, /b/, I Can Has Cheezburger, and Ponychan. Not to mention images like this:

[Brenda]

Tricks Tricks:

Brenda Brenda:

Why does it matter that it is only open for a period of time? Does that mean they can't secure it like they can online banking? I call BS.

Because with a DDOS attack, it can be made unavailable for that entire time. Then what do we do?[/quote]

Then we still go to the voting booth at the school. It is and/and, not either/or.
The people who were not planning on going to the voting booth (polling station? Whatever you call it ) will try it online, if not possible, then they won't vote. Just like they did last time.
The people who make an issue of voting WILL vote, regardless.

[Tricks]

Brenda Brenda:

Tricks Tricks:

Brenda Brenda:

Why does it matter that it is only open for a period of time? Does that mean they can't secure it like they can online banking? I call BS.

Because with a DDOS attack, it can be made unavailable for that entire time. Then what do we do?

Then we still go to the voting booth at the school. It is and/and, not either/or.
The people who were not planning on going to the voting booth (polling station? Whatever you call it ) will try it online, if not possible, then they won't vote. Just like they did last time.
The people who make an issue of voting WILL vote, regardless.[/quote]
Then it's a waste of money.

[bootlegga]

DanSC DanSC:

bootlegga bootlegga:

Anyone who wants to, can visit Gov.ca/forum and input his/her idea for dealing with issue A (like a platform).

Now you're asking for disaster. It'll descend into a mix of the Fox News comments section, /b/, I Can Has Cheezburger, and Ponychan. Not to mention images like this:

Nah - I'm sure the government could find a few dozen mods to wed out the trolls and losers and keep it honest.

Heck, given that it's the government, they could make you use your SIN when you register and just forward trolls/asshats SINs to CRA for a nasty audit the following tax year...

[PublicAnimalNo9]

bootlegga bootlegga:

DanSC DanSC:

bootlegga bootlegga:

Anyone who wants to, can visit Gov.ca/forum and input his/her idea for dealing with issue A (like a platform).

Now you're asking for disaster. It'll descend into a mix of the Fox News comments section, /b/, I Can Has Cheezburger, and Ponychan. Not to mention images like this:

Nah - I'm sure the government could find a few dozen mods to wed out the trolls and losers and keep it honest.

Heck, given that it's the government, they could make you use your SIN when you register and just forward trolls/asshats SINs to CRA for a nasty audit the following tax year...

HAHA, you sir are a glorious bastard

[Brenda]

Tricks Tricks:

Brenda Brenda:

Then we still go to the voting booth at the school. It is and/and, not either/or.
The people who were not planning on going to the voting booth (polling station? Whatever you call it ) will try it online, if not possible, then they won't vote. Just like they did last time.
The people who make an issue of voting WILL vote, regardless.

Then it's a waste of money.

So you say "because there is a risk of a DDOS attack that will put the system down, we should not even think about it, because that would be a waste of money"?
Maybe we should just cut elections all together then, if you make it a money issue. I don't think offering the option to vote online is going to make a huge difference in the budget...

[OnTheIce]

Tricks Tricks:

Because with a DDOS attack, it can be made unavailable for that entire time. Then what do we do?

And what if someone calls in a bomb scare at a polling station, then what do they do?

There's all kinds of "what if's".

There have been failures with all types of voting. Paper, electronic and I'm sure online will have it's problems too.

Canada has been using electronic voting since the 90's, adding the online portion is just the next step.

[Wada]

I think it would be worth a try. Like OTI says it's coming and I think it would open up the world of plebiscites and studies and who knows what that might get more people envolved.

[DrCaleb]

Brenda Brenda:

Does that mean they can't secure it like they can online banking? I call BS.

What makes you think online banking is secure? It's better than most things online, but far from 'secure'.

Besides, to vote online almost always will entail recording something about the voter, and you lose anonymity.

Pen and paper for me, baby. If it ain't broke . . .

[Brenda]

DrCaleb DrCaleb:

Brenda Brenda:

Does that mean they can't secure it like they can online banking? I call BS.

What makes you think online banking is secure? It's better than most things online, but far from 'secure'.

Besides, to vote online almost always will entail recording something about the voter, and you lose anonymity.

Pen and paper for me, baby. If it ain't broke . . .

Well, that is your choice, and that is fine.

I have no problem with online banking. I just got a new debit card, and it doesn't state my name, only a number, so "identity theft is harder". That is such bullshit...
I also do not understand why it is a good thing to have a credit card. I find the credit score system out of time and out of place. If you are talking about "losing anonymity", this is it. You have a "good rating" when you pay everything on time (which means that is public info, and not just between you and the company you have to pay) and bad rating when you don't pay on time.

Where I am from, it is the other way around. You do not get registered anywhere UNLESS you don't pay your bills on time. THEN you get registrated somewhere, a nation wide data base, the only one that can collect this info (by law), and if you are NOT registered there, there is no problem. That means that when you are a good citizen, no one can find you and your privacy is not breached.
This system also means that if you are not registered there, there is no reason to not give you a car loan, mortgage, or any loan you apply for.

[Dragon-Dancer]

If it's on the net it can be stolen. That's the basic reality of the internet. I do agree with OTI though, online voting is going to be a reality weather we like it or not. I also don't think that it's such a bad thing to try it and see how well it works. As others have pointed out we could always start by using it for advanced polls and go from there. If they at the very least use bank level security it should work out ok.

I also like the idea of a more interactive government accessible through moderated online forums, for some candidates such things are already in the works with the use of twitter, blogs, etc.

[sandorski]

If they do it right, Hacking shouldn't be much of an issue. Such a system is likely to only be Online for short periods of time every few years. If need be, you could simply shutoff International Internet access for the day of the Election to prevent DDOS attacks.

[Tricks]

Brenda Brenda:

Tricks Tricks:

Brenda Brenda:

Then we still go to the voting booth at the school. It is and/and, not either/or.
The people who were not planning on going to the voting booth (polling station? Whatever you call it ) will try it online, if not possible, then they won't vote. Just like they did last time.
The people who make an issue of voting WILL vote, regardless.

Then it's a waste of money.

So you say "because there is a risk of a DDOS attack that will put the system down, we should not even think about it, because that would be a waste of money"?
Maybe we should just cut elections all together then, if you make it a money issue. I don't think offering the option to vote online is going to make a huge difference in the budget...

Risk? It's more than a risk. DDOS attacks are easy to do. A bunch of kids from a computer science class could run one and cause serious problems. Let alone if someone had issues with the government and wanted to fuck with us. Why risk it? I am one of the first people to embrace technology, but doing something like this is just asking for trouble on a whole wackload of fronts. Trusting the election of the leader of a nation to the internet is a terrible idea.