http://politics.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/09/28/1216207

Dutch Commission Deals Blow To Electronic Voting

Posted by kdawson on Friday September 28, @08:27AM
from the return-to-paper dept.

hcdejong writes "The Dutch commission that has been investigating the electoral process presented its final report yesterday (Dutch). The conclusions and recommendations are devastating to the current Dutch practice of voting electronically, and to plans for voting via the internet. Paraphrasing from the report: The deputy minister for the interior Bijleveld said in an initial response (Dutch only) that she would revoke the certification of the current generation of electronic voting machines. The minister plans to present an official Cabinet position on the electoral process in two months. The next elections (for the European Parliament, 2009) may see a return to paper ballots." Read on for a translation of some of the key points from the report.

Paraphrasing from the report:

• The current electronic voting machines do not comply with the basic requirements of an election (e.g. transparency, controllability, integrity).
• The paper ballot still offers the best way to comply with these basic requirements.
• The commission recommends using an electronic system to generate the paper ballot. The voter must be allowed to check the ballot before it is deposited in a locked box.
• Votes can be counted electronically (by scanning the paper ballots), with the option of a manual recount.