Yahoo Finance Aussies e-bank, so why can’t we e-vote?
Some states trialled electronic voting at the last state elections (WA, NSW), and with Aussies loving the process, it’s any wonder why Australia hasn’t made the switch to e-votes yet.
If the disastrous missing Senate ballot boxes of 2013 isn’t reason enough to switch to electronic voting, international studies have shown there are some serious pros to going online.
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For example, the US has electronic voting machines in many states, Estonia offers electronic voting over the internet, and a recent UK study found e-voting would not only significantly reduce the cost-per-vote by 26 per cent, but it would also see voter turnout increase by a whopping 4.7 million.
So why don’t we e-vote?
The 2017 Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters cited some hurdles like cost, security and verification of results on the topic of electronic voting.
The Committee said public confidence in the security and integrity of any voting system was integral to ensuring confidence in the election outcomes, and electronic voting could introduce new and greater safety concerns.
They pointed to an independent analysis of Estonia’s remote internet voting system, which actually recommended discontinuation of the system due to fundamental security and data integrity flaws.
And, while the e-bank argument is widely used, the Committee says banking online isn’t impervious to attack, and current security is no guarantee of future security.
In terms of costs, the Committee said the total cost of the 2013 election was $133 million, which equates to around $9.68 per vote.
Ireland spent around $78 million on developing a universal static electronic voting system, and more close to home, iVoting in NSW in the 2011 election had an average cost per vote of $74, and if it’s scaled more appropriately, it drops to $24 per vote cast, which is still significantly higher than the cost of our current archaic process.
Is it a hard no?
It doesn’t look like it.
The 2017 report shows the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters recommended that, after the next Federal Election, the AEC undertake a full cost-benefit analysis of using electronic certified lists at all polling locations based on a permanent investment in the relevant technology, and/or the development of a platform that can be accessed from any networked computer, with a view to full implementation at future elections.
While that’s a mouthful, it suggests that after this Saturday, the AEC has been told to get work on looking at how much it will cost the Government to implement e-voting, and whether it’s worth it.
The Committee was of the view “that a secure and robust electronic support system is an immediate future goal for democratic practice in Australia”.
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