It might be more convenient, but it's also more fraught.
Federally, the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters has ruled out allowing Australians to cast their vote online, arguing it risks catastrophically compromising our electoral integrity.
There are three reasons why Australia shouldnt move to an online voting system:
·the system might not be secure;
·the code might not be correct; and, most importantly
·if something goes wrong, we might never know.
oThe system might not be secure
Computer security researcher Alex Halderman and I (Vanessa) found a serious security vulnerability in the NSW iVote system during March 2015 election. This was caused by some code imported into the secure voting session from an insecure third-party server. It meant an internet-based attacker could have exposed e-votes, changed them, and circumvented iVotes verification process.
oThe code might not be correct
In the 2012 local government elections in Griffith, NSW, a software error incorrectly distributed preferences, which meant candidate Rina Mercuri lost a spot on the Griffith council.
oIf something goes wrong, we might never know
With no official account of the iVote run, and no public independent report, we cannot tell whether votes were changed or lost in the 2015 NSW election.
