[LINK] Fwd: vip-l: The Australian: E-Voting follow-up article

[Marghanita da Cruz]

Hi All,

It seems there are multiple related topics getting wrapped up into one.

a) Management of the electoral roll(s) - which I presume is already
electronic - don't tell me there is a handwritten ledger somewhere.

b) Checking eligibility to vote - now some people less trusting than
myself would be concerned about puting their vote into even a sealed
envelope, which is then placed inanother with their name and address
and stat dec on the cover (if you are not on the roll and believe you
should be, if you are lodging a postal vote - I think).

c) Authenticating voters (yes I am mystified how you can turn up at  a
polling booth and help the official locate your name on the list).

e) Casting Electronic votes.
See http://www.eci.gov.in/EVM/index.htm

f) Whether parliametary representation is an effective way of governing
- do Australians need mechanisms (other than marginal seats) to ensure
their wishes (other than comments on voting cards, which go nowhere and
threaten the individuals vote being declared informal) are reflected by
their elected representatives.

I found this
> PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION SOCIETY OF AUSTRALIA 
> 18th March 2006
> A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE SOCIETY AND ITS PURPOSE
> INTRODUCTION: The movement in Australia began; most strongly in South Australia, Tasmania and Victoria; in the late 1800s. Vote counting in public elections then, and up till 1919, was, except for Tasmania, by highly unsatisfactory relative majority (first-past-the-post, or plurality) procedures in single member, two-member or multi-member electoral districts. From 1919 plurality systems were replaced by majority-preferential systems, but Queensland’s Legislative Assembly retained a plurality system until the 1940s, and that still applies to some municipalities there. Western Australia has, most unfortunately, revived plurality counting for municipal polls. In the 1930s, South Australia became the last mainland State to discontinue multi-member Assembly districts. 
http://home.vicnet.net.au/~prsa/history/history.htm

Marghanita
-- 
Marghanita da Cruz
http://www.ramin.com.au
Phone: 0414-869202
Email: marghanita at ramin.com.au