Researchers carried out an online survey among 1,000 Canadians on May 25 and 26, in English and French, to poll their views on the country’s electoral system.

Nationwide, 70% of respondents felt online voting should be an option for voting in federal elections. That support was reflected no matter people’s age or gender.

Respondents were then asked about which voting system they found most appealing, choosing from first-past-the-post and three different types of proportional representation.

Only a quarter chose first-past-the-post, the current method, in which whoever gets the most votes wins – even if they do not have the support of the majority of voters.

Most respondents chose some form of alternative to first-past-the-post – 23% supported mixed member proportional, 19% chose pure proportional and 14% chose ranked voting. However, when asked if voting should be mandatory, only 34% of respondents supported the idea, while 57% said its should stay voluntary.

Justin Trudeau has promised to introduce legislation by May 2017 that would end the use of first-past-the-post in federal elections and make voting mandatory. An all-party parliamentary committee was formed early this year to consider alternatives to the first-past-the-post system, such as proportional representation or a preferential ballot.

Interestingly, while there are no plans to hold a referendum on voting changes, 67% of poll respondents disagreed, saying the final decision on the issue should be put to the people.

Ambassadors For Online Voting In Canada

Follow My Vote has an Ambassador Program with dedicated members all over the world. Ambassadors help get the word out about Follow My Vote’s blockchain voting software. They help communicate the benefits of online voting to elected officials and citizens alike. Neil Haran is our Ambassador in British Columbia, Canada. We are always looking to bring on more Ambassadors and the people of Canada have spoken! They want online voting!

The Global Demo

To demonstrate the power, convenience, and security of our blockchain voting software, we are hosting a parallel election alongside the 2016 United States Presidential Election. We have launched a Kickstarter to help fund it, as the more money we receive, the more people can participate.

Source: Vancitybuzz.com
Read more about our blockchain voting software.
Read more on different voting methods such as first-past-the-post.

About the author: Will Long is the Marketing Manager of Follow My Vote. He believes online voting in Canada is just a matter of time.

The post New Poll Reveals People Want Online Voting In Canada appeared first on Follow My Vote.

So how exactly would a digital contribution work under HB 687? The value of the digital currency would be determined by its market value at the time of the transaction. So any increase to the market value afterwards would have to be reported as interest on the campaigns finance report. One catch to all of this, is that to spend any of the digital currency, it must first be sold on the market, and then have those funds be placed back into dollars. Only then can those dollars be spent.

“Campaign finance; digital currency as an accepted form of contribution. Provides for the acceptance of contributions to a candidate, campaign committee, or political committee in the form of digital currency. The bill provides that such contributions shall be valued by the market value of the digital currency at the time the contribution is received and requires that any increase in the value of the digital currency while in the committee’s designated depository be reported as interest on a campaign finance report. The bill also requires the treasurer for any campaign or political committee to sell any digital currency contributed to it and deposit the proceeds from the sale into the designated depository before the funds may be expended. The bill defines digital currency as money represented by digital information that is stored, spent, and transferred electronically as part of a financial transaction. All provisions governing the acceptance and reporting of contributions apply to contributions in the form of digital currency.”

– HB 687, Virginia’s Legislative Information System

On a national level, digital currency has been making its way into campaigns such as Rand Paul’s. Paul is one of the first presidential candidates to accept donations in bitcoin. The FEC says that, under US federal election laws, the digital currency must first be sold on the market and the proceeds are placed back in the campaign depository before being spent. Essentially the same as Virginia’s HB 687. On top of this, the FEC has capped the contribution value of digital currency at $100. Federal election laws apply to the U.S. House, Senate and Presidency.

Needless to say, donating digital currency is still in its political infancy. There is still a large amount of red tape that is causing widespread adoption to sputter. While this is a step in the right direction for allowing digital currency into campaign finance, eventually allowing digital currency to be spent without conversion is the ultimate goal.

About the author: Tyler Molihan is a Marketing Intern at Follow My Vote. He hopes to increase awareness about the benefits of online voting systems.

The post Campaign Finance Going Digital In Virginia? appeared first on Follow My Vote.

There are actually several differences between countries in the EU in regards to the European Parliament elections. The European Parliament has stated that these “undermine the notion of European citizenship and the principle of equality.”

The reforms to the electoral act propose that all EU citizens living abroad should be able to vote in European Parliament elections in several unique ways. These include electronic, online and postal methods.

Both the US and UK have seen poor voter turnouts recently.  The UK experienced a 36% turnout for last year’s European Parliament elections, even though there was a high level of hype, media coverage, and money involved.

A poll this year, by WebRoots Democracy and YouGov, found that 56% of the British public who are online want an online voting option implemented for the upcoming referendum on the UK’s membership of the EU.

The European Council  will now review the proposed reforms to the 1976 EU Electoral Act. Ultimately, the European Council must unanimously endorse the reforms before being approved by all member states.

We applaud the efforts here to promote online voting, however the voting systems used must be safe, secure, and honest. Read about online voting technology.

Source: WebRoots Democracy

About the author: Will Long is the Marketing Manager of Follow My Vote.

The post EU Citizens Abroad Must Be Able To Vote Online Declares European Parliament. appeared first on Follow My Vote.

Initiative-122 could also set nationwide standards for honest elections and public financing for political campaigns. The initiative contains innovative ideas that have never been seen before, such as voters receiving $25 vouchers to give to the candidates of their choice. They can give to one candidate or several. Either way I-122 could reign in big money and pave the way for more honest elections all over the country.

If you live in the Seattle area, this is what it means to vote yes on I-122:

LIMIT CORPORATE AND WEALTHY INTERESTS’ INFLUENCE ON OUR ELECTIONS

• Limits campaign contributions from interests that spend significant funds ($5,000+) lobbying the city and corporations with large ($250,000+) city contracts.

SET STRICT LIMITS ON BIG MONEY CONTRIBUTIONS AND CAMPAIGN SPENDING

• Sets strict contribution limits to no more than $500 in all city races (similar to San Francisco), and limits spending by candidates who voluntarily participate in Democracy Voucher program.

INCREASE TRANSPARENCY, ACCOUNTABILITY, AND FINES ON RULE BREAKERS

• Tightens campaign reporting deadlines and increases transparency with electronic disclosure requirements.
  Each paid signature gatherer must show a badge stating “PAID SIGNATURE GATHERER.”
  Increase fines & penalties on those breaking election rules.

INCREASE PARTICIPATION IN THE DEMOCRATIC PROCESS

• Allows everyday people to support candidates of their choice with four $25 Democracy Vouchers each election cycle.
  Enables more candidates, including women, young people and minority candidates, to run viable campaigns against big money candidates.

KEEP OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS HONEST

• Makes it illegal for city officials and their top aides to take lobbying jobs immediately after leaving office.
  Requires elected officials to fully disclose possible conflicts of interest.

PROVIDE ITS OWN FUNDING MECHANISMS

• Allows City to pay for I-122’s $3 million/year costs either from the general or from a levy, estimated at $0.019 per $1,000 of assessed property value, about $0.65/month for a $400,000 property.

Source: Honest Elections Seattle.
About the author: Will Long is the Marketing Manager of Follow My Vote.

The post Bringing Honest Elections To Seattle With Initiative 122 Could Set The New Standard appeared first on Follow My Vote.

North Carolina

Voters in the Tar Heel state were subjected to some of the harshest electoral laws in the country, which eliminated seven early voting days and same-day registration, and prohibited voters from voting outside of their home precincts

Although these new laws made voting less convenient across the board, Black voters, who are historically much more likely to take advantage of early voting, suffered the most.  

In 2012, 700,00 voted during [the early voting days], including more than a quarter of all African-Americans who voted that year.  In 2012, 100,000 North Carolinians, almost a one-third of whom were African-American, voted using same-day registration, which was not available this year. And 7,500 voters cast their ballots outside of their home precincts that year.

The year the laws were enacted, state house speaker Thom Tillis beat Senator Kay Hagen by roughly 48,000 votes, a margin of 1.7 percent.  Ironically, Tillis helped to craft the very same voting restrictions that may have guaranteed him the win.

Kansas

Just before the 2012 elections, new laws in Kansas made two major changes by implementing a strict photo ID law and requiring documentary proof of citizenship for voter registration.

The results? More than 24,000 Kansans were “held in suspense” due to their failure to present the now-necessary proof of citizenship, and were not able to successfully register to vote. Overall Kansas voter turnout dropped 2 percent in 2012.  Many voters were unable to cast their ballots because they did not have a government-issued photo ID that was accepted under the new laws.

In another close election, incumbent Governor Sam Brownback triumphed over adversary Paul Davis by a 2.8 percent margin, or 33,000 votes.    

Virginia

Virginians too faced stringent new photo ID laws in 2012 that impacted elections.  

According to the Virginia Board of Elections, 198,000 “active Virginia voters” did not have acceptable IDs this year.

While the data is not yet available, if national averages hold, the photo ID laws would have accounted for a decrease in voter turnout of 2.4 percent, which equates to 52,000 Virginians.  

Remarkably, Senator Mark Warner came away with a win over Ed Gillespie by a mere 0.6 percent margin, or 12,000 votes. In other words, if only 6 percent of those Virginians that were unable to vote due to the new laws had voted against Warner, Gillespie would have secured the win.

Florida Florida recently implemented what is arguably the most extreme of all in the wave of new voting restrictions.  

Perhaps the most significant for this election was a decision by Scott and his clemency board to make it virtually impossible for the more than 1.3 million Floridians who were formerly convicted of crimes but have done their time and paid their debt to society to have their voting rights restored.

According to a joint study by the Human Rights Watch and  the Sentencing Project, the new laws meant that one in three Black Floridians was, for all intents and purposes, permanently disenfranchised.   In the gubernatorial election, Rick Scott beat out former Governor Charlie Crist by just 72,000 votes.

Ironically, Scott had rolled back rights that were expanded under Governor Crist, who had established a path for people with past convictions to more easily get their voting rights restored. Under that process, more than 150,000 citizens had their rights restored before Scott changed the rules.

The post New Voting Restrictions Determine Election Outcomes appeared first on Follow My Vote.

The post What Will the Future of Voting Look Like? appeared first on Follow My Vote.

Hilary Clinton has also proposed various other methods intended to increase access to the ballot box. In addition to automatic voter registration she has also proposed that early voting (in person) be expanded,  felons should have voting rights be restored (contingent upon serving sentences), and parts of the Voting Rights Act be restored. In 2013 the Supreme Court struck down parts of the Voting Rights Act.

The Act that was specifically struck down was to combat racial discrimination in voting. The Brennan Center for Justice stated the following about this overturned key provision of the Voting Rights Act.

Under Section 5 of the landmark civil rights law, jurisdictions with a history of discrimination must seek pre-approval of changes in voting rules that could affect minorities. This process, known as “preclearance,” blocks discrimination before it occurs.  In Shelby County v. Holder, the Court invalidated Section 4 — which determines the states and localities covered by Section 5 — arguing that current conditions require a new coverage formula.

Hilary Clinton is campaigning for voting rights. We will most likely see her focus on automatic voter registration and other issues like it as she tries to win votes before the 2016 election. The following is what Hilary said regarding her initiatives on automatic voter registration.

“We have a responsibility to say clearly and directly what’s really going on in our country. Because what is happening is a sweeping effort to disempower and disenfranchise people of color, poor people and young people from one end of our country to another,” she said at Texas Southern University, a historically black college.

Follow My Vote is a proponent of all methods of improving access to the polls. However we also see this as a strategy of a political party to further its agenda. Typically Democrats want to expand voter access, with little regard for voting security. The Republicans on the other hand are very aware of voter fraud and tend to support legislation that focuses on election integrity at the expense of voter access.

Automatic voter registration is something we can get behind, however we must make sure that this does not create extra ballots that can be used for voter fraud. This is one more reason we need provably honest elections. Please let us know what you think of automatic voter registration! We want to know what the American people want, not just what the parties want.

Source: WSJ

About the author: Will Long is the Marketing Manager of Follow My Vote. Will supports automatic voter registration but only if we can vote online in a decentralized secure way.

The post Should The US Have Automatic Voter Registration? appeared first on Follow My Vote.

Follow My Vote is happy to see the idea of voter suppression back in the news, as it offers a great opportunity to educate law makers of ground breaking technology available that could make voter suppression a non-issue. We know that there are much better and technological ways to increase voter turnout without sacrificing the integrity of the entire system.

Hillary Clinton knows she won’t be able to count on the more than 60 million votes that Barack Obama secured to win the White House in both 2008 and 2012. Instead of wallowing in self pity, Clinton’s campaign has come up with a game plan to make sure that the former Secretary of State’s path to the coronation remains unblemished: expanding the electorate. On May 29, Marc Elias, the lead lawyer for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign, was among those who filed a lawsuit in Wisconsin challenging the state’s voter-ID law. The suit claims that the law, passed under Clinton’s likely 2016 rival Governor Scott Walker, suppresses voting rights:

The post Hillary Aims to Tear Down ID Laws to Increase Voter Turnout appeared first on Follow My Vote.

Recently there were comments made by Gov. Rick Scott and his administration in an attempt to stymie what will surely be a huge step forward for the digital democracy. We will continue to watch Florida closely!

The Scott administration’s behind-the-scenes opposition has opened a new rift between Scott’s office and county supervisors and stirred new speculation that Scott may not want to take steps that would expand the pool of voters as he explores a possible U.S. Senate bid in 2018.

Florida would become the 25th state with an online voter registration program under a bill (SB 228) sponsored by Sen. Jeff Clemens, D-Lake Worth. The idea has broad bipartisan support as well as the backing of AARP, the League of Women Voters and Disability Rights of Florida, and it unanimously passed a Senate committee Thursday.

But a staff report of the bill by Scott’s Division of Elections refers to the bill as a “mandate (that) presents potential risks and challenges” at a time when the state’s voter registration and driver license databases are both undergoing extensive changes. Florida relies on driver license information to verify voters’ identities.

The report says: “Malicious cyber-attacks and non-malicious malfunctions could potentially wreak havoc on an online voter registration system” and online registrations “could potentially increase the chances of votes being cast by someone other than the people actually registered to vote.”

Read Full Article Here.

The post Negative Comments Surrounding Florida’s Online Voter Registration Stir Officials appeared first on Follow My Vote.

Tell us about yourself and California Association of Voting Officials (CAVO).

I am a California-based civil rights activist with a focus on election system security. In 2000, I became interested in reformist efforts, and in 2005 began advocating for open source (GPL) systems. Initially there was a group called Open Voting Consortium doing good work; then the California Association of Voting Officials was created.

CAVO’s mission is to oversee the deployment of publicly-owned/state-certified OS voting systems. Publicly-owned open source (General Public License) voting systems will be less expensive and more secure. Off-the-shelf commodity hardware can be utilized as well.

Tell us about the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), its origins, and what it now calls for.

HAVA was created in response to the 2000 debacle. Lobbyists Bob Ney and Jack Abramoff pushed for it, and the rest is history. Basically, America was sold a 4.5 billion dollar batch of bogus voting systems that government reports have condemned as flawed. The vendors seized the lock-in opportunity to push poorly-made and high-priced systems, and it continues to this day.

The good part of the Act was its attempt to accommodate the disability community, but that attempt failed. The disability community is still hopeful for a future technological solution.

Read More Here: https://opensource.com/government/15/3/open-source-transparent-voting/

The post Who is Leading for Transparency in Democratic Elections appeared first on Follow My Vote.