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General Politics Discussion
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Ya, the highlights could be an issue because they're highly subjective, but a podcast, or video stream would be incredibly easy.
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(10-09-2018, 12:38 PM)Spokes Wrote: Ya, the highlights could be an issue because they're highly subjective, but a podcast, or video stream would be incredibly easy.

And if it’s done right, anybody could make and publish their own highlights. I think this is a better way of handling highlights — everybody from random local people to large news organizations could select the sections they think are important, but anybody could always refer back to the full video for context.
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As of tonight 85% of voters on a 570 News site say they would be in favour of online voting in municipal elections.

Am I the only one that thinks there are more cons than pros here?

   
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(10-10-2018, 10:22 PM)Spokes Wrote: As of tonight 85% of voters on a 570 News site say they would be in favour of online voting in municipal elections.

Am I the only one that thinks there are more cons than pros here?

Not just you.  There are reasons why this type of thing isn't a good idea, but like most things in life, asking the average person about it yields pretty useless data.
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(10-10-2018, 10:52 PM)danbrotherston Wrote:
(10-10-2018, 10:22 PM)Spokes Wrote: As of tonight 85% of voters on a 570 News site say they would be in favour of online voting in municipal elections.

Am I the only one that thinks there are more cons than pros here?

Not just you.  There are reasons why this type of thing isn't a good idea, but like most things in life, asking the average person about it yields pretty useless data.

Looks like 85% of voters on a 570 News site wouldn’t recognize a computer security textbook if it bit them.
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At least computer security is a technical sounding topic that most people will realize they don't really understand the technical details of (although there are plenty of computer software folks who don't know anything about security who think they do), think about how hard it is to convince the average person that their "intuition" about the "obvious/common sense" belief that say, widening the 401 is a solution for reducing congestion, or pretty much anything about voting.

People don't see it as a technical topic, so good luck getting them to even reconsider their preconceived notions.
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I think online voting could potentially be a good way to increase voter engagement at a municipal level. While there are undoubtedly security issues that make it pretty much completely inappropriate for elections at the provincial or federal level, I'm not entirely sure those concerns offset the potential for greater participation at a local level.
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(10-11-2018, 06:08 AM)jamincan Wrote: I think online voting could potentially be a good way to increase voter engagement at a municipal level. While there are undoubtedly security issues that make it pretty much completely inappropriate for elections at the provincial or federal level, I'm not entirely sure those concerns offset the potential for greater participation at a local level.

<cynic>
I will vote in the municipal election even though my inner cynic says:

Quote:It's not the people who vote that count, it's the people who count the votes.  (Stalin?)

Quote:"I care not who casts the votes of a nation, provided I can count them.  - Napoleon failed to remark.” — New York Times editorial (26 May 1880).

Quote:I consider it completely unimportant who in the party will vote, or how; but what is extraordinarily important is this — who will count the votes, and how. (Stalin)

Election meddling is as old as elections.  And it happens in all political systems.  Just saying.....
</cynic>
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As I think jgsz was saying: if we're having elections, we should have elections that are actually secure. Fundamentally I don't believe that fair online elections are possible, and I don't think any expert would say that either. (I am no expert, but I have followed the news on elections in general).
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(10-11-2018, 06:08 AM)jamincan Wrote: I think online voting could potentially be a good way to increase voter engagement at a municipal level. While there are undoubtedly security issues that make it pretty much completely inappropriate for elections at the provincial or federal level, I'm not entirely sure those concerns offset the potential for greater participation at a local level.

I think we could see a small increase in engagement, but maybe I'm being naive, but is access to voting locations really what's stopping people from voting?  I always thought it was more apathy.
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(10-11-2018, 08:12 AM)plam Wrote: As I think jgsz was saying: if we're having elections, we should have elections that are actually secure. Fundamentally I don't believe that fair online elections are possible, and I don't think any expert would say that either. (I am no expert, but I have followed the news on elections in general).

I believe that is correct. Secure online elections are not possible with current technology, nor with any reasonably foreseeable technology. I am not a security expert myself but that is my understanding of the literature on the subject.

As far as I can tell, this is about as debatable as the fact that carbon dioxide traps heat from the Sun in the Earth’s atmosphere.

By which I mean that ignorant know-nothings, paid shills, and useful idiots will try to argue to the contrary, but among people with valid opinions there is no argument.
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Tritag's election survey is out: http://tritag.ca/election2018/
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Mark McCardle (formerly of eSentire, a cyber security company in Cambridge) posted a twitter thread with his concerns about Cambridge's online voting system last night.

https://twitter.com/mjmcardle/status/104...2333725697
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