Transparency and Trust in E-Voting Systems

As part of TEDxConstitutionDrive 2010, Dr. Rebecca Mercuri, one of the leading international experts on electronic voting, participated in this important TED talk about "Trust". The expert exposed interesting views on Transparency and Trust in Electronic Voting Systems, arriving to very interesting conclusions about the technology of the E-Vote.

Election with new e-voting systems: a smoother experience for New Yorkers

New York is the last state to replace lever-operated machines with electronic ones in compliance with the Help America Vote Act (HAVA). The state saw some problems with the unveiling of electronic voting machines in the statewide primary in September when Mayor Bloomberg was quoted as calling the glitches a “royal screw up.”

E-voting without fraud

Many defy the security of voting machines. The general public, their governments and bodys of power fear the corruptibility of the electronic voting systems.

Misconceptions about Electronic Voting

Failed attempts can give good things a bad name, especially when it comes to trying unknown and pioneering methods. Some of the myths that surround electronic voting come from failed trials that do not even represent the current technological advances. The UK made a messy, disastrous attempt at Internet-based voting via text message, personal computer, electronic kiosk, and even digital TV in 2003. That attempt was plagued by security issues, and faulty Internet connections rendered many kiosks useless on Election Day. However, most of the ambiguity regarding security issues has been addressed by a crucial feature: the Voter-Verified Paper Ballot (or VVPAT, Voter Verified Audit Trail). E-voting systems with paper ballots can support all needed security audits against fraud, just as older methods did, plus added efficiency and additional audits of their own. Here we discuss five common misconceptions hindering modern electronic voting systems.