Memorandum by Sergio A S Pettezzoni, Perseu
Software (VOT 09)
My name is Sergio A S Pettezzoni, from Perseu
Software, a Brazilian software house, web-based e-Voting software
developer. I write with the purpose of contributing to the Parliamentary
Inquiry into the practicalities of electronic voting.
GENERAL CONCEPTS
1. As this subject involves national security,
my opinion is that all the electoral process must be conducted,
administered and controlled by the State.
2. The world is still at a very early stage
in the work on e-Democracy. As everything is new, everything must
be known.
3. I agree with Professor Aviel Rubin, computer
science teacher at Johns Hopkins University, Maryland, USA, when
he says that "the government should become more involved
not only in setting the standards but also in testing the technology,
a process now done by testing companies, paid by manufacturers,
to certify the accuracy of the makers' equipment".
4. The public administration should constitute
and guide a co-operative, collaborative and complementary environment;
not a tendering competition; forming a collective of ideas, stimulating
debates, the presentation of projects and the promotion of partnerships.
5. A governmental department should know,
test, valuate and classify all products offered by the suppliers,
in order to counsel the Local Authorities, giving them complete
and specialised orientation. Its analysis would be also helpful
to drive the formation of consortia, ensuring complementarity.
6. The opportunity to experiment in the
various localities should be offered to all projects; giving everybody
the same chance of being evaluated.
7. Solutions that had not been piloted or
not yet been tested fully must be observed too.
THE ELECTRONIC
VOTING VIA
THE INTERNET
1. The current encryption technology can
ensure the safe data transmission through the Internet.
2. The firewalls and security software,
at present accessible for all, can protect not only the Government's
equipment, but also the citizens'.
3. Every year databases get more powerful
and the servers better and more capable of executing millions
of operations per second.
4. All electronic voting systems (Internet,
Electronic Kiosk, Digital Television, Telephone, Mobile Text Messaging,
etc), without exception, can be programmed to record the electors'
steps when voting, breaking the right to privacy; and tainting
the results.
The doubt is: Is the software clean or corrupted?
5. The authorities must have access to the
codes, before, during and after the election, to verify the correctness
and integrity of the commands.
The best option is to install just one piece
of software. Having only one system attending the entire nation,
integrating the country, regions and localities, means that it
will be easy to check. An audit could examine the results of this
single programmation.
Using the example of electronic kiosks, it is
very difficult to control several programmes installed in several
machines. If a sample of them were altered and escaped inspection,
it would modify the final results and expose the votes. There
are many opportunities for changes to be made: in the fabrication,
during the transport and in the storage.
6. The expenditure is reduced, with just
one web-based e-Voting software. The cost for the people who have
web connection at home will be also diminished, since the cost
of travelling to the poll stations will be saved. For those who
do not have home computers, the public computers in the town hall,
libraries, schools, post offices, etc., or even the computers
in the cybercafes will solve the problem.
The electronic kiosk is expensive and the required
quantity, transportation, infrastructure, installation and the
necessary staff required, multiply the cost.
7. Internet voting helps to increase the
turnout. As the elector can vote at home (even at lengthy distances,
by radio or satellite connections), he can choose the best time
to do it, at a time that will not disturb the rest of his day.
When travelling, the voter can use any cybercafe.
The last American election showed queues of
electors waiting in the electronic kiosks. Voting this way obliges
the people who live in distant places to commute. Being out of
the country, it is only possible to vote at the diplomatic representations
or by mail.
8. The Internet Hyper Text permits furnishing
complete information to voters about candidates, parties and proposals
through links to the corresponding websites, bettering the quality
of the vote. Moreover, it can display the candidates' photos and
the parties' logos.
The only data offered by the electronic kiosks
are the candidates' photos; and the numbers attributed to the
candidates and parties are a factor of complication for the electors.
9. The Internet systems can translate the
texts for the citizen: questionnaires, instructions, register,
e-mails, confirmations of voting (which can be printed),
etc, no matter what idiom he talks.
10. The entrance on the system is possible
by any kind of key: login, password, secret question, Personal
Identification Number—PIN, Personal Identification Device—PID,
national identity card, fingerprint, iris scan, face scan, hand
geometry, etc.
11. In a web-based system, the registration
can be made on-line, in a decentralised manner by various officials,
anywhere, even at the consulates.
Another favourable aspect of the single software
is the building of the National Electoral Register. This allows
the citizen to answer the consultations of his locality, of his
region and of the Kingdom, using the same system.
The National Electoral Register can also be
used by other applications of e-Government like:
e-Police Nationwide Biometric Identification;
e-Historical Criminal Records; and etc.
All these systems can have their own isolated
citizens' registries, but the ideal is to have only one, covering
the entire country and serving various tasks. Besides having several
facilities, to protect virtually and physically just one public
registry is easier than protecting many.
12. The main application of a web-based
electoral system is the use of the Customer Relationship Management
(CRM), philosophy that permits the interaction of the citizen
with the government:
e-Participation.
With this tool, it is possible to develop social
politics, in order to satisfy the population, optimise the public
service and increase the confidence of the people in the administration.
The CRM allows for the development of semi-direct
Democracy, gives voice to the minority groups and identifies localised
problems and needs, enabling localised decisions.
THE PROCUREMENT
PROCESS
Perseu Software has been trying to introduce
its e-Voting solution to the British administration since 2002.
The only organisation that knew the software adequately was the
Electoral Commission, which invited the firm to participate in
the United Kingdom e-Voting experiments of 2003.
Since then, no official bureau has given regard
to it; despite the fact that we had expressed an interest to become
technology providers for the Electoral Modernisation Pilots Project
in October 2002 and registered the firm in 2003 as supplier in
the National Project Suppliers Register and in the United Kingdom
CRM National Programme.
CONCLUSIONS
1. A project of such magnitude and complexity
cannot be conducted just by an individual company.
2. The Government must have a knowledge
of all of the solutions and select the most valuable from those
offered by the suppliers in the different areas, like software;
database; security and protection (including physical defence);
servers and hosting; communications; etc., in order to compose
a cooperative and complementary environment, getting the best
of all available works.
3. The Internet is recognised today as a
potential tool of social inclusion.
4. The web-based electronic voting is the
most viable option, because of the current security, facilities
and low cost.
5. One single piece of software covering
the entire nation is the best way to fiscalise the system and
to reduce the expenses.
6. The suppliers are participators in the
structure that will generate the desirable solutions and they
need the government's support and help to achieve these goals.
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