I just read an article written by Michael Geist in the Ottawa Citizen entitled “Here’s a vote against Internet balloting” where Michael describes why Canada should not consider Internet Voting as an option for an election. He even goes as far as trying to compare a federal election to an unsuccesfully run ICANN Board election – ridiculous!!
The facts don’t lie. Internet Voting has been successfully implemented in binding elections in Canada since 2003. They have received an almost 100% satisfaction rating when implemented. They have increased voter turnout. They provide those who cannot physically go to a polling station (phyically challenged, elderly, out of town) with an opportunity to vote in an election. And as the head of elections in Halifax stated after they offered Internet Voting – it provides a “Green” alternative to paper ballots.
Michael would probably say that Delvinia is biased because we have worked on the communications for the past two elections with Markham and have been exposed first hand to Internet Voting. Trust me, it works. Delvinia has nothing to do with the technology itself, so I have no vested interested other than being a voter who likes to vote online.
Internet Voting is here. Canadians want it. It is reliable, accurate, transparent and safe. Most of all, Canada is leading the world in successfully implementing Internet Voting. Instead of saying why we shouldn’t do it, you should be writing about the fact that Canada is already demonstrating the potential of Internet Voting and further research is needed where it is being implemented so we can show the world that Canada is a world leader in successfully implementing Internet Voting.