Canada Considering Online Voting In Elections 324
ehud42 writes "Slashdot readers generally agree that voting machines such as those from Diebold are a bad idea. Well, what about online voting? That is what the Vancouver Sun is reporting. Given that voter turnout in our most recent election was the worst on record, Elections Canada is kicking around the idea of allowing voters to register online, update registration information online, and maybe even vote online."
As a Canadian let me be the first to say (Score:5, Informative)
DO NOT WANT
Re:Poorest Turnout...... (Score:2, Informative)
Basically, the conservatives held an election because they wanted a majority, and then they didn't get it.
totally BAD idea, and it won't fix the problem (Score:2, Informative)
The problem of low voter turnout has to do with the nature of Canadian politics. The facts, for our dear American cousins south of the border who don't know what's going on with their single biggest trading partner:
It's a multiparty parliamentary system. There are two dominant parties, the Conservatives and Liberals, a very siginficant local collection of politics call the Bloc (from Quebec, and includes hardcore separatist groups), and a significant minority party, the lefty NDP. There is also a significant Green party presence, although they lost their seat last election.
The party in power is the conservative party. Whether your sentiments are conservative or not, (mine are not, but that's not relevant right here) doesn't change the fact that the leader, Stephen Harper, is an imbecile who has ineptly squandered every opportunity to get it right. I don't much care for the Conservative Party, but I feel really bad for them having such a dumb ass for a leader. It's kind of embarrassing. You have my sincere condolences.
The party in power (Conservative) is a Minority government, i.e., it rules without a majority in parliament.
The second party, the Liberal Party had an obtuse francophone for a leader, who lead the party to a completely uninspiring defeat at last election. His name was Dion, and he was a smart man with all the personality of a can of paint and all the media saavy of an average middle school student.
Harper, in a typical bullheaded move, pulled some shenanigans right after the election, and pissed off all the other parties, including the Bloc. So they agreed to form a coalition, which would have put Harper out on the street, and Dion (the man he just defeated) in as Prime Minister. This was obviously a very bad idea as the Conservatives hated Dion, and the Liberals weren't exactly effusive with praise. In fact, they were anxious to ditch his sorry ass ASAP. Rather than face an ignominious defeat at the hands of Dion, Harper drove his Waaaaahmbulance over to the governor General's office and weeped bitter tears to the Queen's representative, because, Canada is (in a few narrow ways) still a fucking colony and the Queen is technically the head of state. He begged her to prorogate parliament, and she rolled on it.
This left Canada without a functioning government at one of the most critical times in world history: the collapse of American Capitalism in winter 2008/9.
So, if something truly insane happened, there would be no deliberative body to make policy and pass law. A truly desperate and stupid move by Harper, who was already on the shitlist of the conservatives for failing to get a majority gov't, and on the permanent shitlist of all the other parties for, well, basically being a bit of a dick.
In the process, the Liberals booted Dion and replaced him with a man named Ignatieff. Ignatieff is very smart, fairly slick, and every bit of a dick that Harper is, it's just that he has a few (if poorly implemented and largely hidden) scruples.
Who represents the NDP, the Greens and the Bloc is only of consequence to the constituents, as none will be a majority party any time soon.
So, now we're looking at another election, and it will likely be the third in 4 or so years. And my guess is it will have the same results as before. None.
The only thing that is likely to happen is the Liberals will take over with a minority government, and thusly be every bit as effective at governing this nation of cats as Harper, i.e, not at all.
So, this online voting boondoggle is jsut te latest drama in this soap opera of Canadian Politics.
tune in next week when they decide to ban beer, but only between 2 AM and 6 AM. Or something equally retarded.
RS
Re:4chan would rig it (Score:1, Informative)
Is pedobear going to be running for every seat? It'd truly be impressive to see one person occupy all 308 seats simultaneously.
(We don't directly vote for our PM in Canada, in case you didn't notice.)