E-GOVERNMENT
Nedap voting machines knee-deep in controversy
10-10-2006
by Maxim Kelly
A European group of hackers has urged governments not to use the Dutch-made e-voting machines currently stored by the Irish government for future elections.
The German Computer Chaos Club (CCC) has called for a ban on the Nedap ES3B voting machine because of fears radio emissions from the electronic voting booths could be intercepted and citizens' voting preferences exposed.
According to Margaret McGaley of lobby group Irish Citizens for Trustworthy E-Voting, the ES3B is "practically identical to the machines we have in Ireland besides a few extra LED lights on the front."
Indeed Dutch lobby group "Wij vertrouwen stemcomputers niet" (We don't trust voting computers), which took part in a TV programme in the Netherlands last week demonstrating how the machines could be made to record inaccurate voting preferences, used publicly-available manuals from the Nedap-built Irish version to demonstrate unsuitability for the upcoming Dutch general election.
It is understood the CCC advised the Dutch group in their technical analysis of two used Nedap machines acquired from municipal authorities in the Netherlands.
The Dutch report last week also highlighted physical security worries about the e-voting machines because postage stamp-sized, hard-to-detect chips can be inserted inside the machines to manipulate votes cast.
"Anyone when given brief access to the devices at any time before the election, can gain complete and virtually undetectable control over the election results," the report stated.
Another concern was that the physical keys used to power up the machines are available for EUR1 each on the internet, while anti-tamper seals inside the Dutch machines' casings were merely pieces of sticky paper and easily removed.
The Irish government had originally intended its Nedap machines would be used in the 2004 local and European elections. In the meantime, the Commission on Electronic Voting (CEV) under retired judge Mathew P Smyth, has published two reports which raised doubts over the accuracy and reliability of the software used to count votes on the machines. The EUR60 million e-voting project has been put on ice indefinitely with estimated storage costs of EUR700,000 per year.
Although the final CEV report stated the machines themselves were "robust, reliable and well-suited to their purpose," and criticism centred on the software, the latest hardware concerns will give renewed pause for thought.
Fine Gael's environment spokesman Fergus O'Dowd TD told ENN he believed the investigations carried out by Dutch and German experts should be now examined by Irish officials, and condemned the Government's "arrogance" in assuming it knew everything about electronic voting.
"I think EUR60 million is a lot of money to throw away and we should proceed on an all-party basis to find technology to fix these problems before we have to throw the e-voting machines in the bin forever," he said.
A spokesman for the Department of Environment, Heritage & Local Government said a cabinet sub committee is currently deciding on what action to take in light of the CEV report.
The spokesman also told ENN the physical security of the voting machines is in the hands of county registrars, "but facilities range from county to county".
"While it is acknowledged that additional measures can be taken to strengthen further the security protocols surrounding the system...the fundamental operability, accuracy and functionality of the system, and its effective operation, are not in doubt."
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