unesco conference on the role of ict for persons with disabilities-scytl 25112014

© SCYTL Group 2014

UNESCO Conference on the Role of ICT for Persons with Disabilities

Scytl Secure Online Voting for PWD

November 2014

Anand G. DhuriDirector Indian Subcontinent

[email protected]

© SCYTL Group 2014© SCYTL Group 201 2.

About ScytlOverview

+80% market sharein online voting with

19 out of 21 countriesusing our system

Strong scientific backgrounduniversity spin-off

Largest patent portfolio in the

industry41 patents worldwide

Worldwide leaderin secure electronic voting &election modernization software solutions

VC-backedVulcan Capital, SAP Ventures, Vy Capital, Adams Street Partners, Industry Ventures, Balderton Capital, Nauta Capital & Spinnaker Invest

70% Year over Year Growth

© SCYTL Group 2014© SCYTL Group 201

About ScytlGlobal implementation footprint

+500 electoral experts across the globesupporting elections in +38 countries

BackgroundChallenges to Vote

Accessible Voting TechnologyCase Study: State of Victoria

Conclusions


Background

Democracy implies inclusion by default

Democracy as inclusive process

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“Inclusion of persons with disabilities is fundamental to democracy. Without the inclusion of all citizens, a country is not a true democracy. Including persons with disabilities in political life also provides the basis for mainstreaming their inclusion in all aspects of society” (2)

(1) The right to political participation for persons with disabilities: human rights indicators – European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, May 2014 (2) Equal Access How to Include Persons with Disabilities in Elections and Political Processes – IFES & NDI Report, 2014

“The opportunity to be involved in political life, whether by standing for elected office, joining a political party, or following political news stories in the media, is at the heart of what it means to live in a democratic society” (1)


Background

Political participation of persons with disabilities is grounded in International Law

• United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) (May 2008) -Art 29

• American with Disability Act (1990) & Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act (1984) - polling places across the United States must be physically accessible to people with disabilities for federal elections.

• National Constitutions and Electoral Laws

International Law

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Background

Article 29 - Participation in political and public lifeEnsure that persons with disabilities can effectively and fully participate in political and public life on an equal basis with others, directly or through freely chosen representatives, including the right and opportunity for persons with disabilities to vote and be elected, by:

ü Ensuring that voting procedures, facilities and materials are appropriate, accessible and easy to understand and use;

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UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities gives universal recognition to the dignity of persons with disabilities

United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities


Background

• Protecting the right of persons with disabilities to vote by secret ballot in elections and public referendums without intimidation, and to stand for elections, to effectively hold office and perform all public functions at all levels of government, facilitating the use of assistive and new technologies where appropriate;

• Guaranteeing the free expression of the will of persons with disabilities as electors and to this end, where necessary, at their request, allowing assistance in voting by a person of their own choice;

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United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities



Conclusions


Challenges to Vote

Barriers Solutions Potential Role ofTechnology

Legal Restrictions to vote particularly those with psychosocial or intellectual impairments

Change lawsCivic EducationAdvocacy work of PWD groups

Low

Admin No data disability data collected at voter registrationNo data on voting and political participation

Change lawsAdvocacy work of PWD groupsOnline/Electronic Voter Registration

Medium

Non accessible information

Election materials such as election ballots, candidates programs, non captioned political debates, elections results..

Accessible electoral materialsSign language results interpretation

Medium: online results posting or SMS

Implementation Insufficient accessibility of voting procedures, polling stations, voter assistance, no option to vote remotely from long-term institutions…

Accessible polling station selectionPoll working training to accommodate PWD

High: alternative remote voting channels (online & phone voting)

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Barriers



Conclusions

Accessible Voting TechnologyAssistive Tools

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Assistive tools can be use on their own or to support more advanced technological voting solutions to ease the access of PWD to vote:

• Handheld controller• Tactile ballot guides• Braille ballots• Disable access units

© SCYTL Group 2014

Accessible Voting TechnologyeVoting

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• eVoting: an election system that uses encryption to allow voters to transmit their ballot securely and privately over the Internet.

• eVoting solutions can be used in polling stations or remotely, in both cases using standard PCs, IPads or smart phones as reliable electronic voting machines.

• eVoting solutions can be adapted for the specific voters with disabilities needs, supporting multiple assistive devices to facilitate accessibility, from screen readers to sip & puff devices.

© SCYTL Group 2014

Accessible Voting TechnologyeVoting Features

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eVoting Remote Solution is available on Google Android, Apple iOS, and Blackberry• Offering the same security levels as its computer-

based version.

eVoting Kiosk Voting Solution is easy to use for all voters. • A user-friendly touch screen interface to facilitate the

voting process for all voters, regardless of literacy level or computer proficiency.

Both solutions are flexible• Can be adapted to any ballot format and

configuration. • Supports multiple languages.

© SCYTL Group 2014

Accessible Voting TechnologyPhone Voting

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• Phone Voting: enables citizens to vote through a standard or mobile phone privately and independently at the polling place or from home.

• Designed to provide alternatives to absentee voting and improve the voting experience for disabled voters and those with language difficulties.

• An effective alternative to disabled voters and those with language difficulties, and also gives access to vote to voters in rural areas with minimal internet connectivity or no computer access.

© SCYTL Group 2014

Accessible Voting TechnologyPhone Voting Features

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Clear audio instructions• Makes extremely simple to vote, even in the case

of complicated ballots. • Adapts to local pronunciation so that candidates’

names do not get confused. • Supports other advanced features like volume and

speed control.

Ease of voting by phone• Voters use the telephone keypad to make

selections one contest at a time. Voters can skip any contest they are not interested in, but once reaching the end of the ballot, they are informed of any under voted contest and be given the opportunity to review and revote prior to casting their ballot.

© SCYTL Group 2014

Accessible Voting TechnologyPhone Voting Features

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Ease of voting by phone• Takes into consideration usability guidelines to

facilitate the voting process and, if required, provide voter training before the election over a toll-free telephone line.

Control of the voting process• Similarly to paper-based elections, the control of

the phone voting process remains exclusively in the hands of the Electoral Board. System administrators or any other officials with privileges in the system cannot see or modify the votes.



Conclusions

© SCYTL Group 2014

Case Study: State of VictoriaVoting for visual impaired and absentee voters

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Project context

• The Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC) is the entity responsible for organizing and executing elections related to the State of Victoria, in Australia.

• Since 2004, VEC has been very sensitive to visual impaired citizens in regards to their voting needs. In 2005 VEC decided to implement a project to allow visual impaired citizens to vote on their own, without assistance for the 2006 Lower and Upper House elections.

• Prior to this project visually impaired voters were unable to vote in private, as they would require the assistance of a sighted person. The project was extended in the 2010 election to include non-English speaking voters, and interactive voice response delivered capability.

© SCYTL Group 2014


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• First election in Victoria using eVoting technology, exclusively for blind voters.

• Scytl and HP provided the software and hardware required:• eVoting Solution for Kiosk voting, including the issuing point module to code voter

cards• PCs with touchscreens, special keypads and headsets for visually disabled voters,

and smartcard readers

• Customized to support 12 languages and included a graphical and audio interface with multiple features to allow voters with different visual disabilities to vote on their own without assistance.

• VEC was able to operate the voting system with limited support from Scytl/HP.

• Scytl/HP provided overall project management services, as well as logistics support in deploying and decommissioning 100 kiosks from multiple polling stations.

The 2006 Election

© SCYTL Group 2014


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The 2010 Election

• Enhancement post 2006 election:• New voting channel besides kiosk voting: voting using a telephone interface. An

automated phone system to allow 3,000 - 4,000 disable voters to cast their votes by phone, in 1,000 internet linked phones at 6 separate locations, and also allocated 150 units for use in mobile voting stations.

• New way of collecting cast e-ballots: whether cast by phone or using a kiosk, ballots were stored in a central server, managed by VEC

• More citizens could use the system: all visually impaired citizens in Victoria, and any Victorian citizen residing in the UK or in the other Australian states.

• Scytl and HP provided the software and hardware required for the project:• Kiosk voting software and telephone voting software: servers and high-quality

hosting• Personal Computers integrated inside tamper-proof voting kiosks.

• Again, VEC was able to operate the voting system with limited support from Scytl/HP.

• Before being used, the software was audited by three independent entities.

© SCYTL Group 2014

Case Study: State of Victoria

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Overcoming the challenges

• Several zoom and contrasting options on kiosk screens• Audio on kiosks and telephone• Tested and validated by visual impaired volunteers

Accessibility for visual impaired

• Specific cryptographic protocols to protect election integrity and voter privacy.

• 3 different security audit processes• System always operated and supervised by Electoral

Board and VEC

Transparency

• Kiosks can store ballots locally when connectivity to central server is lost

• Two data centers available• Available support teams and replacement pieces

System availability

Voting for visual impaired and absentee voters

© SCYTL Group 2014

Case Study: State of Victoria

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Outcomes• Improved voting experience for visual impaired voters

• Increase in participation of the involved communities.

• Consolidated voting mechanism among target groups

• Second time for visual impaired voters

• First time & successful experience for absentee voters living in UK and in other Australian states

• Successful validation of large scale deployments:

• Hardware, software and security codes/tokens

• Training and support to poll workers

• Central infrastructure

• Electoral transparency due to the different audits and supervision processes carried out by different trusted entities

Voting for visual impaired and absentee voters



Conclusions

© SCYTL Group 2014© SCYTL Group 201 26

ConclusionsTechnology Potential

Inclusion• Technology could include special provisions for disenfranchised population

to vote independently and privately such as persons with disabilities

Access• Technology can facilitate the vote to people with reduced mobility, not only

persons with disabilities and/or living in long-term institutions but also rural population, people displaced by ethnic and communal conflict, diaspora …

• eVoting and Phone Voting Solutions have been successfully implemented in a myriad of countries and used by thousand of voters

• The indigenous character of technology allows customization to the local legislation, experts’ technology knowledge and languages.

Technology has the potential to positively contribute to the inclusion and accessibility of elections


ConclusionsKey issues to be addressed

However…

Technology is a tool: technology per se cannot ensure the success of an election or the accessibility of all voters with disabilities. • Access barriers can be overcome by non-technological

solutions, simple forms of technology or advanced technology options.

Technology should be understood by Electoral Management Bodies, Groups of PWD and Voters with Disabilities. • Involvement of groups of PWD before the election is a key

success factor as well as usability guidelines and, if required, provide voter training before the election.


ConclusionsKey issues to be addressed

Vote privacy and integrity should prevailAny voting technology that aims to facilitate the vote to persons with disabilities should provide end-to-end security, preventing both internal and external attacks, guaranteeing voters’ privacy and allowing their audit by authorized third-parties.

Electoral Management Body pioneersIn the use of accessible voting technology happen to be in regions with accessible electoral laws, empowered groups of persons with disabilities, owned resources and deep understanding of technology.


India Office

• Anand G. Dhuri• M/ +91 982 084 5822• E/ [email protected]• S/ agd260471• W/ www.scytl.com

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unesco conference on the role of ict for persons with disabilities-scytl 25112014

Documents

disabilities scytl group

rights of persons

right of persons

year growth scytl group

dignity of persons

disabilities crpd

political life

political party