Report on the 2007 federal election electronic voting trials

Interim report of the inquiry into the conduct of the 2007 eleciton and matters related thereto

Dissenting Report: Senator Bob Brown, Australian Greens

10 March 2009
Mr Daryl Melham MP
Chair
Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters
Fax: 6277 4710

Dear Chair

Dissenting Report – Report on the 2007 federal election electronic voting trials

I do not agree with Recommendation 4 of the committee's Report on the 2007 federal election electronic voting trials.

Recommendation 5 should have been timed to ensure that the touted electronic system was in place for the next election as scheduled.

The committee has recognised "the strong value placed by some electors who are blind or have low vision on their ability to cast a secret and independent vote" but offered no timetable or concrete mechanism to meet the plea those electors have made.

This is 2009. Instead of abandoning electronically assisted voting, Australia should be promoting it for disadvantaged voters, on the established principle that the more who use it, the cheaper it gets. In abandoning the electronic system trialled in 2007, a recommendation should have followed specifying which of the computer-assisted voting systems already in use in the Australian Capital Territory and overseas should be ready for trial at next year's national election.

Yours sincerely

Senator Bob Brown

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