Pentagon Scraps Internet Voting Plan

By | February 6, 2004

Further to earlier postings about security fears for a new Internet voting system for overseas Americans, AP is quoting an anonymous official as saying the Pentagon has scrapped the plan. CNET attributes the same story to a spokesperson for the Pentagon.

AP quoted the official as saying Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz made the decision to scrap the system because Pentagon officials were not certain they could “assure the legitimacy of votes that would be cast.” CNET quoted a spokesperson as saying pretty much the same thing:  “The action was taken in view of the inability to ensure the legitimacy of the votes cast.” 

About 6 million U.S. voters live overseas, most of them members of the military or their relatives. Pentagon officials had said they still planned to use the system, called SERVE, this fall and would test it during last Tuesday’s South Carolina primary. But the day before the voting the Pentagon called off the South Carolina test. CNET says the Defense Department is not completely dropping the idea: “Efforts will continue to look into all technical capabilities to cast votes over the Internet,” the spokesperson was quoted as saying.

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