In the May 2007 local elections Open Rights Group observers, accredited by the Electoral Commission, took part in the monitoring of pilot electronic voting and electronic counting schemes. We observed serious failings in the process. Since then, further problems have come to light in other countries leading to many electronic voting solutions being banned or [...]

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The Electoral Commission and the separate review by Ron Gould that the Commission instituted have published their reports on the Scottish elections of May 2007
The Gould Review in particular identifies a number of important issues, many of which ORG addressed in our own report on the elections published this June.

The Review identified ‘fragmented and antiquated’ [...]

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Our e-Voting campaign tour reached its triumphant climax this week in Blackpool. Jonathan Djanogly MP, the Shadow Solicitor General who was hugely complimentary about our work, joined Jason and the Electoral Commission on our panel to discuss the ills of electronic elections.
As in Brighton with the Lib Dems and in Bournemouth with Labour, the [...]

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The “should we trust electronic elections” bandwagon rolled onwards through Bournemouth and the Labour conference this week. Our aim was to both recruit more supporters and inform the party faithful that e-voting and e-counting are unsuitable for use in our democratic elections.
Our panel - chaired by William Heath - comprised of Alun Michael MP, Andrew [...]

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Conference season got off to a fine start this weekend, as ORG set off around the country to raise awareness among grassroots party activists of the issues e-voting and e-counting pose for our democracy.
John Pugh MP, Tom Hawthorne (Electoral Commission) and ORG’s very own Jason Kitcat were expertly chaired by William Heath, and addressed [...]

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In a speech to the National Council of Voluntary Organisations this morning, Gordon Brown announced he would be convening a Speaker’s conference on voting reform:
Today I am proposing to the Speaker that he calls a conference to consider, against the backdrop of a decline in turnout, a number of important issues, such as electoral registration, [...]

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Update: Supporter meetup venues and dates now confirmed - see you there!
ORG will tour the 3 major English political party’s conferences this Autumn, spreading our message that e-voting and e-counting systems are unwelcome developments in UK democracy. Ministers and representatives from the Electoral Commission will attend our fringe events to join a lively debate on [...]

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The Electoral Commission released its official evaluation of the 3 May electoral pilots in England this morning. Among their key recommendations, they advise that:

“no further piloting should take place in the absence of a robust, publicly available strategy that has been subject to extensive consultation.”

We’re pleased that the Commission has recognised the desperate need for [...]

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Last week, at the official launch of ORG’s report into e-voting and e-counting in the May 2007 elections, we invited MPs, civil servants and other stakeholders to come and listen to the findings of our observation mission. Joining Jason Kitcat on stage was Harri Hursti, computer security expert and star of Hacking Democracy, who has [...]

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Today ORG releases its report into the May 2007 elections in Scotland and England. The result of a huge team effort and planning which began late last year, the report provides a comprehensive look at elections that used e-counting or e-voting technologies.
As a result of the report’s findings ORG cannot express confidence in the results [...]

Read the rest of "ORG Election Report highlights problems with voting technology used"