Public blackballs e-voting in consultation

THE independent watchdog set up to assess the secrecy and accuracy of electronic voting has received a decisive thumbs down on the system from its consultation with the general public.

The overwhelming majority of the submissions to the Commission on Electronic Voting express criticisms and concerns about the e-voting system's introduction but the number of actual observations is extremely low.

Recurring themes are the need for a back-up, voter-verifiable paper record, the undermining of democracy, the damage to voter confidence, worries over the lack of secrecy, the reliability of computers and allowing spoiled votes.