4/21/2009

Electronic voting system for Singapore?

This is about the most perfect voting system we can think of. We should seriously consider this despite all the worries about how computer can be programmed to produce whatever results the programmer wants it. I read Ng E Jay's blog saying that the US is concerned about such a move. Fear not. Though computer is reputed to produce results according to the input, GIGO, it still boils down to human integrity and honesty. If we can have the most honest and high integrity officers operating the system, we can be sure that the system will function according to what it is supposed to do. Trust me, computer voting is not only convenient but also efficient and accurate. Tust me. I will leave it to everyone to trust the administrators of the system. This is very personal.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

There will still be the fear of being identified if you vote for the opposition. The fear that there will be no lift upgrades for your HDB flats etc etc etc. As there was the numbering of your ballot in the old system, e-balloting can also be traced. So how???

Anonymous said...

God help us!

Integrity and honesty is just a theory, not real. Who will appoint the administrator of the electronic voting system? The voters? Remember, he who pays the piper calls the tune.

Lost Citizen

Anonymous said...

Reminds me of the movie "Man of the Year", where Robin Williams becomes American President =)

Anonymous said...

plus no more holiday coz u can vote online from office.

Jetreroy said...

Seriously, for countries with billions in population, it might be efficient.

Just tell me, how much does this setup cost for machines that will be utilised once every 5 years? How much time and effort does it take to tabulate the votes manually per GRC?

I thought we said we had the finest minds as our leaders...

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

hi jetreroy, you have not been posting for a while.

Other than efficiency, the greatest fear of electronic voting system is fraud. the system is as innocent and naive as a child. it can be programmed to produce all kinds of weird results no matter what the input is from the people. then it can be proclaimed that the computer will not lie.

but the computer will lie without knowing that it lied. only its master will know the truth.

in such an important event of voting for the next govt, the integrity, validity and accuracy of the votes must not only be unquestionable, but must be available for cross checking, with solid evidence to prove that there is no fraud when doubt is raised.

the electronic system is a fishy tool for anyone who knows what the computer can do or can be made to do.

use it on those third world computer illiterate countries. they will not know anything missing and may even believe the computer system is god.

Anonymous said...

Old Singaporeans are not ready for electronic voting for the next one or two elections. Maybe, it would be implemented for oversea based Singaporeans.

It seems that almost all in the Cyberspace has little or no trust in the System.

patriot

Ⓜatilah $ingapura⚠️ said...

Although I don't vote,I support the idea of electronic voting.

Of course, anything new introduced by the government always makes the conspiracy theorists' imaginations run wild.

Contrary to what these idiots believe, electronic voting — if set up correctly — is LESS PRONE to fraud, tampering and mistakes than using the human beans — who have personal agendas, emotions and neuroses.

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

yes, the computer and an electronic system can be designed to be foolproofed. it can als be designed to fool the fools.

Ⓜatilah $ingapura⚠️ said...

> it can als be designed to fool the fools. < There is a difference between "can" and "will".

If e voting systems are designed to cheat, and if the practice is widespread, the systems will quickly lose credibility and no one — not even the crooks — will trust them any more.

If you are going to be skeptical about anything, it is best to contain your skepticism to hypotheses which are at least 'reasonable' and not totally whacko,lest you fall into the abyss of the govt conspiracy theorists.

The sg.gov might be clever at playing political games and occasionally pandering or scaring the (usually) non critical thinking people with bullshit, but IMO even the sg.gov is not silly enough (because it is easy to get caught) to tamper with e-voting systems and hope to 'get away' with such stunts.

Anonymous said...

Governments won't tamper, but it allows the tracking of individuals. But that already happens in Singapore, and the people's democratic republics around the world.

It's like heading into a fully cashless society, you know. Convenient and cool, but at the expense of inevitable loss of privacy and security.

Ⓜatilah $ingapura⚠️ said...

Governments can track you anytime.It doesn't require an electronic ballot to do that. In the 'old days' the ballots were numbered.

The point is this: AWARENESS (not referring to the women's group)

Once you are AWARE that you can be tracked, you can take steps to either avoid it altogether (like me — I don't vote) or take measures to avoid the full harmful effects.

> It's like heading into a fully cashless society, you know. < There are still ways to beat the lack of anonymity and privacy even in a cashless society. I doubt it will ever be 'fully' cashless.

For e.g.: to avoid being tracked by police,banks and financial reporting, some drug gangs in Australia use CASINO CHIPS for their transactions. The market will always respond to needs of individuals. The need here is privacy and avoidance of law-enforcement (which can hurt business), so alternative systems evolve.