🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <j.stokes-1209961943150001@g34mac3.anu.edu.au>,
j.stokes@student.anu.edu.au (Jason Stokes) wrote:

> In article <AE5AB0299668C5D2@betty-p04.netinfo.com.au>,
> petermac@netinfo.com.au (Peter Mackay) wrote:
> 
> > In article <Pine.SOL.3.91.960909110324.19726B-100000@student.canberra.edu.,
> > "Geiselhart / Karin (COM)" <u833885@student.canberra.edu.au> wrote:
> > 
> > > Interesting to see the stirrings of electronic democracy. The Minnesota 
> > > e-democracy project was a successful attempt to open up the political 
> > > debate in that state. Why can't the info-rich ACT be a similar example in 
> > > Australia? A prerequisit would be an access terminal in local shops. 
> > > Any grass roots activists interested in working on such a project for the 
> > > next ACT elections? 
> > 
> > Access terminals *are* available in local shops, and the population has
> > been trained in their use over the last decade.  All we need is a VoteCard,
> > and a way to enter in a selection with a keypad.
> > 
> > Unfortunately, the system falls down in terms of privacy.  It is all but
> > impossible to achieve a secret vote *and* to convince the voters that this
> > is the case.
> 
> Hmm..   I believe completely anonymous electronic ballots falls within the
> cryptographic area of "zero-knowledge proofs of knowledge" and is entirely
> possible with today's level of crypto technology - without even invoking
> VoteCards.

My copy of Bruce Schneier's "Applied Cryptography" provides a protocol
which presumably works.  It contains algorithms for most crypto methods
(including DES, IDEA, RSA) written in C.
> 
> But you're right - explaining how the system works is problematic.  And
> there are other, major problems with any form of electronic democracy. 
> Despite our best advances, the voting system will be wide open to
> hacking/tampering.  I think electronic voting is something of a blind
> alley in this regard.

Having proven that even the Attorney-General's Department has not the
slightest idea about information technology security, I wouldn't trust such
a system.
> 
> As far as electronic democracy goes, however, I'm all for opening up MPs
> and policy makers to public feedback through email, mailing lists etc. 
> There is the noise problem, however...

And you end up with people getting a robot reply, as happens when you send
mail to Bill Clinton.

 ~ m
 u U     Cheers!
  \|
   |>    -Peter Mackay
  / \    petermac@netinfo.com.au
 _\ /_