Let Every Vote Be Counted, But Only Once!!!

I sent the following 'Letter to the Editor' of the Nanaimo Daily News and was pleasantly surprised when they published it (June 17/08), pretty much as I wrote it (the only thing they changed was the reference to previous Daily News articles/letters). Although it was way over the 300 word limit they usually impose (as usual, I had edited it multiple times to try and distill it to the 'essence'), I would like to believe that they printed it because they felt it contained important information for their readers.

Dear Editor,
It would serve the interests of democracy and the residents of Nanaimo much better if City staff and council ensured that the voting machines they now have can be trusted to produce the correct result, rather than expanding the voting options to include telephone and internet (Voters could cast votes online, Nanaimo Daily News, May 7/08; Assurances needed before e-voting system in place, May 22/08). Before rushing to make changes, City staff would do well to consider the report on e-voting produced by Elections Canada which shows that only 29% of those surveyed would use a computer (the internet) while only 36% would use the phone for registering their democratic choice before they go too far down this road strewn with land mines/false assurances. They should also look at significant problems noted in the Open Rights Group report on 'e-voting' in the U.K. elections of May 2007.
The Diebold Accuvote-OS machines which the City used in the last municipal election in 2005 (and for the PNC referendum) have been widely disparaged due to serious security deficiencies. Due to the fact that they have been demonstrated to be easily 'hackable/infected' and experts at institutions no less than UC Berkeley (Wagner/Jefferson/Bishop) and Princeton (Felten) have produced reports detailing some of their short-comings and how easily they can be compromised, they should be used only with extreme care. Therefore, if the City feels that voting machines are required to count Nanaimo's ballots (the only relevant justification: quick results), they should instead dedicate their efforts to putting in place equipment, procedures and training which will ensure the integrity of the vote. Even with a large number of voters, paper ballots are good enough for both provincial and federal elections, municipal elections being the only ones to use electronic voting in B. C.
There is woefully little in the Nanaimo elections bylaw (5160), which regulates the use of these machines, that would prevent or detect any such tampering with the democratic will of the people and it is highly likely that City staff and the people charged with overseeing the elections (they are usually one and the same) do not know or have not been trained to detect and thwart any such an attacks.
For all of these reasons, Community Services Minister, Ida Chong should, instead of allowing the City 'by decree' to introduce more vulnerabilities into something as important as the ability to exercise our democratic rights, commit herself to ensuring that the use of electronic voting machines in B. C. municipal elections is subject to strict, uniform certification and security requirements and that those responsible for our elections, who must be impartial, fully understand and discharge their responsibilities under those regulations.
If you want to be sure that your vote is properly registered in November, you must tell Nanaimo council and your MLA to make the security of your democratic choices paramount.
For more on the security failings of these machines, go to http://www.blackboxvoting.org & http://www.bradblog.com and search for 'Diebold+voting'.