Re: [election-services] Online ballot delivery - the nay sayers view

[David Webber <david.webber@oracle.com>]

John,

I completely agree.  

I was merely pointing to this kind of negativity as a backdrop - to help us focus our message
in a proper light that will be well received.

I have to say though as to the technology side of all this - as an engineer - I know I can 
solve this - and indeed all the components are there - and I know how to do everything needed.
People scoff - but then people scoffed at the idea of sending a man to the moon too.

I look at a solution I helped deliver for DHS three years ago in a similar light, now its working
and proven, and what do you know, the FBI now has included it as a lynchpin in their new 
N-DEx solution.  Previously there was a whole raft of nay sayers there too, you cannot do 
secure information sharing with all the safe guards you need that will be usable.

Anyway - given the realities of current funding and budgets - knowing how to solve the problems
and deliver the solution is moot when sadly there is none and no will to achieve it - and
particularly when the funding that was available has been spent on all the wrong answers!

Deja vu all over again.

Back to the seminar.  I think there is high value in getting our message out there on how
common data formats can provide significant long term cost savings, improve information
accuracy, solution testing and integration.  Next results reporting - think that is a no-brainer
and again adds transparency and auditability to the process. And then the blank ballot delivery
compared to vagaries of postal mail, again no brainer. 

In terms of audience and positioning - I'd like to see us aim broadly at election folks rather
than technical audience.  As we keep hearing from vendors - if customers ask for it - we'll do it.
So let's talk to their customers!!!

DW

----- Original Message -----
From: johnaborras@yahoo.co.uk
To: david.webber@oracle.com
Cc: election-services@lists.oasis-open.org
Sent: Tuesday, March 6, 2012 3:40:51 AM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern
Subject: RE: [election-services] Online ballot delivery - the nay sayers view

We've heard all of this many times before, so nothing changes.  Seems like some of the examples given, eg returning completed ballots by email, only give fuel to the anti-evoting brigade. But as we've said many times before, we need to stay out of this whole debate about internet security, that's not what EML is about.  We can say a lot about audit which will cover a lot of the comments in this article but that apart I would not want our webinar to get too deeply involved in this type of debate. 

John

-----Original Message-----
From: election-services@lists.oasis-open.org [mailto:election-services@lists.oasis-open.org] On Behalf Of David Webber
Sent: 05 March 2012 17:06
To: Election-Services
Subject: [election-services] Online ballot delivery - the nay sayers view

Notice the comments and discussion posted are excellent and point to flaws in the article.

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9224799/Internet_voting_systems_too_insecure_researcher_warns

This certainly can help frame our webinar plans - there's a lot of disinformation in this CW article.

Ignoring the success of Holland with their overseas voting and positioning paper ballots as the gold
standard when clearly everywhere in the world - people see the opposite - ballot stuffing and other
manipulations are rampant.

DW

---------------------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe, e-mail: election-services-unsubscribe@lists.oasis-open.org
For additional commands, e-mail: election-services-help@lists.oasis-open.org


---------------------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe, e-mail: election-services-unsubscribe@lists.oasis-open.org
For additional commands, e-mail: election-services-help@lists.oasis-open.org