-------- Mensagem original --------
Assunto: Votações pela Internet
Data: Tue, 06 Mar 2007 07:01:31 -0300
De: F. Tollendal <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Para: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Nature - published online: 5 March 2007
Elections go electronic
Estonia premiers the world's first Internet voting for parliamentary
elections.
By Katharine Sanderson
On Sunday 4 March, Estonia played host to a grand experiment: Internet
voting for parliament. People who used this system could vote from
Monday to Wednesday last week, in advance of the paper ballots.
How did it go?
Apparently without a hitch. For those keen on Estonian politics: the
Reform Party won the election narrowly, with 31 out of 101 seats,
closely followed by the Centre Party, with 29 seats.
Why is Estonia first to do this?
Officials at the Estonian secretariat of the electoral committee say
that Estonia's recent history (the country finally broke away from
Soviet power very recently, in 1991) has created a country whose
populace are open to changing ideas and new technologies.
Coupled to this, the Estonian state has introduced an electronic
identity (e-ID) card as a primary form of identification, and this is
held by more than 1 million Estonians. The card can be used for
administration purposes, such as tax returns — and now for voting.
So voters couldn't just stick a password into a website to vote?
No. To vote electronically, users needed their e-ID card and a special
card reader. Such readers were placed in banks, libraries and some
Internet cafes, as well as being available for home purchase for about 7
euros (US$9).
How secure is it?
As well as having a card reader, voters needed two PINs: one to get into
the system and one to encrypt their vote. The vote is separated from the
voter's identity before being unencrypted after the e-voting period has
ended.
It sounds easier than going to a ballot office. Has anyone else toyed
with Internet voting?
Various US states have attempted Internet voting: in 2000 the Arizona
Democrats had an Internet voting system to elect their presidential
candidate, but the system was scrapped for the 2004 election. Elsewhere
there have been various trials and projects: in France in 2003 and the
Netherlands in 2006, for example, nationals living abroad could cast
their votes over the Internet. But the idea has not reached far into the
rest of the United States, or the world.
Did Estonia's system tempt many voters?
Of the country's 1.3 million people, more than 550,000 voted; Internet
votes made up 3% of the total, with about 36,600 voters.
Of the more than 1 million e-ID cards issued, only 40,000 had ever been
used online before the election. Just over half of these previous users
voted using their cards. Some 12,000 people used their card for the
first time in the election.
So did the system help to bump up the overall voter turnout?
The turnout for this election was up — from 58% in 2003 to 61% —
although it's impossible to tell whether Internet voting was a main
reason for the bump. The Estonian electoral committee will investigate
this question.
Will e-voting happen again?
Yes: it is part of Estonian law that Internet voting should be allowed.
The chances are other countries will follow suit with their own systems
soon. International observers from other European destinations flooded
Tallinn last week to see how the system worked.
The official line is that everything went smoothly. Amongst the many
observers of the election was the worldwide regional security
organisation — the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights,
who had no major concerns regarding security in advance of the election,
but who would not comment on what it had seen until its official report
is published in a few week's time.
What if my mouse clicking goes awry?
The advance online voting comes with a special bonus — a chance to redo
your vote, or even change your mind. But only during the advance voting
period.
--
[ ]s
Eng. Amilcar Brunazo Filho - Santos, SP
Conheça o livro
FRAUDES e DEFESAS no Voto Eletrônico
http://www.votoseguro.org/livros
se quiser compreender a
insegurança da urna eletrônica
______________________________________________________________
O texto acima e' de inteira e exclusiva responsabilidade de seu
autor, conforme identificado no campo "remetente", e nao
representa necessariamente o ponto de vista do Forum do Voto-E
O Forum do Voto-E visa debater a confibilidade dos sistemas
eleitorais informatizados, em especial o brasileiro, e dos
sistemas de assinatura digital e infraestrutura de chaves publicas.
__________________________________________________
Pagina, Jornal e Forum do Voto Eletronico
http://www.votoseguro.org
__________________________________________________
