Peru's Voting System Goes Online

[Judi Lynn]

Peru's Voting System Goes Online

LIMA, July 9 (BERNAMA-NNN-ANDINA) -- In Sunday's elections, voters in the Lima district of Canete used an electronic voting system that proved efficient.

According to statements given to Andina, participants took only 30 seconds to complete the entire voting process. It is simple and efficient, allowing the results to be released more quickly.

The head of the Office of Electoral Processes said that Pacaran, Canete is an example of the future of voting in Peru, Peruthisweek.com reported quoting Andina news agency.

"We congratulate the population of Pacaran that participated in this day of democracy: using new technologies, such as the electronic vote, allows the voting process to be more secure and flexible, today showed us that we can use technological innovations that the world is currently using."

More:
http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v7/wn/newsworld.php?id=962023

[msongs]

1. and no way at all to prove theft or cheating. just a few lines of secret code does it nt

[Peace Patriot]

2. Critically important info missing from this article.

Is there a ballot or voter-verifed receipt to compare to electronic totals?

In other words, is an audit even possible?
(In half the systems in the U.S., no audit is even possible.)

If there is a ballot or voter-verified receipt, what percentage of the vote is audited?
(Experts whom I respect say that 10% is the minimum audit needed to detect fraud in an electronic system. Half the states in the U.S. do ZERO audit; the other half do a miserably inadequate 1%. Venezuela does a whopping 55% audit--more than five times the audit needed--in an election system that Jimmy Carter called "the best in the world." Audit percentages MATTER.)

Is the system privatized? Is it run on 'TRADE SECRET' programming code--code that the public is forbidden to review? Also important, WHO is running the system?
(In the U.S., ALL vote counting is done with 'TRADE SECRET' code, and 75% of the voting systems are now controlled by one, private, far rightwing-connected, and Pentagon-connected, corporation--ES&S, which bought out Diebold. The Venezuelan system is run on code that belongs to the PUBLIC and is reviewable by public representatives of all parties. No decent democracy would even think of doing otherwise. We are doing exactly otherwise. What is Peru doing? They are saddled with a U.S. "free trade for the rich" agreement. Does this include, or does it facilitate, privatized, corporatized vote counting?)

Electronic voting is touted as "modern," as "efficient," as "handicap-friendly," and as satisfying the modern (corporate) lust for instant results and instant 'news,' with no fooling around with fuddy-duddy old things like ballot counting and ballot security and public participation. This article pushes the corporate line but fails to answer, or even pose, the vital questions: Is it auditable? What percentage is audited? Is the public excluded from reviewing the code? Is it a private, corporate system?

[Bacchus4.0]

3. the Carter report on the last election certainly didn't say best in the world

Peru can develop the voting system that best fits their needs.

[MinM]

4. Sounds efficient...

and democratic. Good for them.