There can be a lot of risk involved in using technology for electoral purposes. Many electoral events are crucially important, when any procedural or technological failure could spell disaster. In most businesses, their activities are not time-critical, and temporary delays caused by technology failure can be overcome and business can return to normal without any long-term adverse results. In an election, a time-critical event such as polling day can be thrown into irreversible chaos if technology fails.
There are however many ways to minimise the risks in using technology. These include:
- Ensuring the technology is physically secure, preventing accidental damage or unauthorised access
- Ensuring data and computer programs are secure, preventing unauthorised access, auditing code and guarding against computer viruses
- Ensuring data is collected reliably, implementing sound data collection methodologies, appropriate staff training and applying data verification techniques
- Ensuring data is available, backing up data systematically and having manual contingency systems available
- Applying system verification, testing and maintenance regimes to ensure hardware, communications and software operate effectively
- Taking out appropriate insurance measures to guard against monetary or material loss
- Building in performance safeguards to ensure that staff and external suppliers have a direct interest in the successful completion of a project, such as performance bonds, bonuses or penalty clauses
- Encrypting data, internet sites and computer code to ensure that they cannot be accessed by unauthorised users
- Adopting public assurance measures to satisfy stakeholders that the technology is reliable, being transparent through conducting public logic and accuracy tests, making code available for scrutiny and conducting voter information campaigns
- Adopting and enforcing privacy policies, to ensure personal and confidential data is kept secure, while also ensuring appropriate public information is readily available
The following topics in this section cover the various aspects of minimising the risks in using technology in the electoral environment.
