The Speaker was: Phillip Green, Electoral Commissioner, ACT Electoral Commission
The topic was: Electronic voting and counting for ACT Legislative Assembly election
The guest speaker at the March meeting captivated the audience with
an informative presentation on electronic voting and counting.
Phil
provided a brief history of the ACT electoral system and detailed how
it has evolved since that initial election in 1989, with the enormous
ballot paper (that I recall curled up the sides of the booth) and the
lengthy counting procedure that followed, before declaring the first
Legislative Assembly for self government in the ACT.
Currently, the
Hare Clark system with the Robson Rotation
feature (adopted from Tasmania) is the voting procedure in the ACT. This
system creates an enormous number of ballot papers, however, can be
more manageable with the electronic option. The enormous number of versions of ballot papers (420 for Molonglo, 60
each for Brindabella and Ginninderra) is managed both for print and the
electronic version by using automatically formatted ballot papers using
computer programs.
Phil's power point
presentation provided pictures of the computer equipment required to
conduct electronic voting, still ensuring secret ballot.
In 2004, 13.4% of voters used electronic voting, which is a reasonable proportion and provided a virtually trouble-free system. Phil reported that feedback from those who used the system was positive. The obvious advantages over paper ballots was the ability to include different languages on the first screen, and the user-friendly format for those with a disability. I was intrigued by the quality of planning, considerable thought and development which produced the final product. Counting proved so much more accurate and less labour-intensive with the electronic voting.
A show of hands in the audience revealed that a
number of those present had used the electronic option. There was
lively discussion during the evening, and some intriguing questions.
After hearing the advantages and disadvantages of both systems, I felt
most enlightened at the end of the evening and was convinced that
electronic voting is the way to go!
Susan White