E-business moves to elections

October 12, 2004 —

I can do a lot of things online. I do my banking online through one of those "branchless" banks. I met my fiancee online, I work online, I shop online, and my cousin in Stockholm sends me dirty jokes and silly pictures online. One day, I hope the government will decide to make the elections interesting and allow me to vote online, as well. When that day comes, perhaps someone will create a "virtual" candidate, to whom I would most certainly give my vote.

Security experts are whining about the possibility of attack, of course. But the fact is, although online security remains a huge issue, by and large, operating online in virtually any capacity is safe if it's done right. We have now come to a point where the majority of people feel safe about banking and making purchases online, and that's due as much to the advances made by security companies as to the growing pervasiveness of ebusiness. My grandfather's cronies from Chicago voted early and often, and in their zeal to get people to the polls, often recruited dead relatives to cast votes for their preferred alderman as well. The last presidential election, with its hanging chads, dangling participles or whatever they were, gave testimony to the fact that traditional balloting is imprecise and flawed, and we are in desperate need of a more automated system.

Last month, the world's first nationwide Internet-based vote took place in Switzerland. Twenty two percent of citizens in Anieres, Cologny, Carouge and Meyrin took advantage of the opportunity, and it went off without a hitch. It took exactly 13 minutes and five seconds to count the ballots. Swiss authorities are looking forward to expanding the program, and making it a permanent third option for voters, along with postal ballots and traditional polling stations. If we had online voting, would some wiseguy hacker try to write a virus to make everyone vote for Homer Simpson? Probably. But Swiss authorities, known around the world for their concern over privacy and security, are satisfied with the system's safeguards, and have conducted numerous tests, including hiring outside security companies to attempt to crack the system. It has continued to prove resistant to attack.

The national election followed a string of successful local online votes. Like in America, Switzerland suffers from dwindling voter turnout; authorities believe that online voting would get more people to the polls.

The Swiss system uses software developed locally, in conjunction with the Swiss office of Hewlett-Packard, and the Geneva-based security firm, Wisekey. The system is highly secure and uses a method of two-factor authentication. All citizens receive a card from local authorities, giving them their option of voting online, through the post, or in person. The card includes a personal ID code and a four-digit security code. Voters visit a web site and type in their personal code to establish a secure connection, and then they receive an online ballot form. Then, they type in their security code, and date and place of birth. Because that information is compared against a centralized electronic register, the old Chicago trick wouldn't work.

Here in the US though, despite a successful pilot program at allowing military and overseas to cast online ballots in the 2000 general election, authorities have pulled the plug on a program known as SERVE, which would have allowed as many as 100,000 citizens to vote online in November. Granted, the early US pilot plan may have had some flaws, but as we see from the Swiss example, online voting is something whose time has come. It only makes sense to continue US-based pilot programs in online voting, and refine our methods in the years to come.

ITworld.com, Ebusiness Insights