Lysbilde 1

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The Ministry of Local Government and Regional
Development
The report on the scope of e-voting in elections
Marianne Riise, senior adviser Strasbourg 23 and
24 November 2006
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Report

• Considers
• democratic
• legal
• technical
• administrative aspects on e-voting

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The committee concludes

• Main purpose of introducing e-voting
• increase availability
• reduce costs
• ensure faster and more accurate counting
• To reach this objective Make e-voting available
  in uncontrolled environments
• Absolute requirements
• measures to secure secrecy
• strict security
• maintain voters confidence
• Current technology cannot guarantee absolute
  security
• E-voting not recommended on a large-scale basis
• Recommends systematic pilot studies and
  evaluations

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Assessments (1)

• Central dimension Voting at polling stations
  with supervision (controlled) vs. voting outside
  the polling station (uncontrolled)
• E-voting in controlled environments
• not a problem
• expensive
• more difficult to manage
• not recommended as a permanent solution

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Assessments (2)

• E-voting in uncontrolled environments
• definitely a problem as we see it
• secrecy
• in a secluded room and unobserved
• security
• technically not possible to ensure 100
• certain measures necessary
• inexpensive
• recommended

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Measures required

• Introducing a cancellation right
• Only e-voting in advance voting phase
• E-voting only as a supplement
• Satisfy the standards of the EC Recommendation on
  e-voting

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Voters register
Ballot forms
Voting client
Firewall
Ballot receiving server
Ballot storage server
Data network
Ballot inspection server
Voters register
SMS-network
Ballots
Ballot annulment server
Annulment message
Election official
Voting period is terminated
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How to introduce e-voting?

• Step-by-step process
• We should hurry slowly
• Pilots should start
• in controlled environment
• in binding and non-binding elections
• in uncontrolled environments using controlled
  computers (non-binding elections)

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Pilot plans
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Plans September 2007

• Pilots in school elections
• Voting over the Internet for some students
• Also e-voting in controlled environments at
  school elections (as in 2003 and 2005)

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The report is available in English www.e-valg.de
p.no
Contact marianne.riise_at_krd.dep.no phone 047 22
24 72 72