Americans (Dems) Abroad Can Now Vote Online

[Breeze54]

Americans Abroad Can Now Vote Online

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-7242855,00.html

Monday January 21, 2008 8:46 AM

By JESSICA BERNSTEIN-WAX

Associated Press Writer

MEXICO CITY (AP) - This year, for the first time, expatriate Democrats can cast their ballots on the Internet in a presidential primary for people living outside the United States.

Democrats Abroad, an official branch of the party representing overseas voters, will hold its first global presidential preference primary from Feb. 5 to 12, with ex-pats selecting the candidate of their choice by Internet as well as fax, mail and in-person at polling places in more than 100 countries.

Democrats Abroad is particularly proud of the online voting option - which provides a new alternative to the usual process of voting from overseas, a system made difficult by complicated voter registration paperwork, early deadlines and unreliable foreign mail service.

``The online system is incredibly secure: That was one of our biggest goals,'' said Lindsey Reynolds, executive director of Democrats Abroad. ``And it does allow access to folks who ordinarily wouldn't get to participate.''

U.S. citizens wanting to vote online must join Democrats Abroad before Feb. 1 and indicate their preference to vote by Internet instead of in the local primaries wherever they last lived in the United States. They must promise not to vote twice for president, but can still participate in non-presidential local elections.

Members get a personal identification number from Everyone Counts Inc., the San Diego-based company running the online election. They can then use the number to log in and cast their ballots.

Their votes will be represented at the August Democratic National Convention by 22 delegates, who according to party rules get half a vote each for a total of 11. That's more than U.S. territories get, but fewer than the least populous states, Wyoming and Alaska, which get 18 delegate votes each.

Everyone Counts has been building elections software for a decade, running the British Labor Party's online voting since 2000 and other British elections since 2003, chief executive officer Lori Steele said.

Online voting may give absentee voters more assurance that their ballots are being counted, since confirmation is not available in some counties. The Everyone Counts software even lets voters print out a receipt, unlike most electronic voting machines now in use in many states.

``We've had no security breaches. We do constant monitoring,'' Steele said. Online voting ``provides really a higher standard of security than is available in any other kind of system, including paper.''

snip-->

Republicans Abroad has operated independently of the Republican Party since 2003, and therefore can't hold in-person or Internet votes abroad. But it is organizing to get more overseas Republicans registered back home before the primaries, Executive Director Cynthia Dillon said.

Republican votes from overseas could be more decisive because even small margins can make a difference in their winner-take-all state primaries. The Democrats divide primary votes proportionally, assigning delegates according to each leading candidate's share.

``In the Republican primary, the overseas vote could actually have a bigger impact: That vote could be the tipping vote, so to speak, that decides an election in a close race,'' said Steven Hill, an elections expert who directs the New America Foundation's Political Reform Program.

More....

Rhut Rho!! Rethugs votes could have a bigger impact?

How come this is the first I've even heard about this? :shrug:

And all they have to do is "promise" not to vote twice for president? :wtf:

How secure can it be if the software can't detect cheaters?

[WritersBlock]

1. What the article didn't say...

..was that the rethug votes could make a bigger impact because their absentee ballots are actually counted.


But what the hell. I'm signed up & ready to vote in the primary as soon as I get my PIN. Don't remember promising not to vote twice for president, but I think that would mean not voting in two primaries - vote in either the DA one or state primary as far as the presidential candidate goes.


Edit: clarity

[Breeze54]

3. So, what you're saying is..... ("because their absentee ballots are actually counted.")

That the 70% of uncounted ballots in '06 were Dem votes?
Maybe that's a stretch but I wouldn't put it past them at all.

I'd heard of the Democrats Abroad before but not this online voting!
Glad to hear you're signed up for it! Let us know how it goes, will you?

"Some 6 million Americans living abroad are eligible to vote in U.S. elections, but only a fraction do so.
Until recently, the only option was to mail absentee ballot request forms to the last U.S. county of residence,
then wait in hopes that shaky mail systems would deliver the ballots in time to vote.

The system is so unreliable that of 992,034 ballots requested from overseas for the 2006 general election,
only 330,000 were cast or counted, and 70 percent of those not counted were returned to elections officials as
undeliverable, the U.S. Election Assistance Commission found."

[WritersBlock]

5. It's only online voting for the primary, not the general election.

Or at least that's my understanding. I *wish* it was for the general election as well.

As to whether I believe the uncounted ballots in '06 (or more importantly, '04) were Dem votes? I don't want to believe that, but...

Anyway, I can vouch for the undeliverable ballots. I once received one for some poor guy in San Antonio. And I'm in Scotland. No idea who got my ballot. I called & got another one sent out.

[Yael]

2. Oh, theres nothing amiss at all with this!

:rofl:

[Breeze54]

4. lol... I know!! I 'promise' not to vote

in other states too! :P

WTH? :shrug:

[Yael]

6. And I promise to only vote once and only use one SS#

[Breeze54]

7. Kicking for the evening crowd.

:kick: