In a split vote Feb. 13, the Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA) electoral board decided not to proceed with online elections, but that doesn’t mean they’re entirely off the table for future elections.
Issues raised during debate over online elections during CUSA council meetings have ranged from the effect they would have on write-in candidates and scratched ballots to ballot stuffing, voter turnout and student jobs.
Council had voted to proceed with online elections. However, in an unexpected twist, chief electoral officer (CEO) Sean Finn said he didn’t think the motion was passed correctly and wished to proceed with paper ballots.
Despite ruling Finn “overstepped his authority,” the electoral board agreed with him.
To avoid the potential concerns, Finn said they need to be careful.
“When you get into something new, it takes time to review, to vet it, to make sure it’s going to be an integral process,” he said.
While Finn said he’s concerned about the possibilities of hacking online elections, presidential candidate Alexander Golovko said his security concerns are about paper ballots and the possibility of ballot stuffing.
Online elections would have been “a positive thing for students,” Golovko said.
“The system has not been hacked in the past, which makes me feel safe about it, and the system also underwent a rigid testing procedure [before the BOG election] . . . so I believe that the computer people at this school, in conjunction with the CEO, will be able to hold a secure election.”
For her part, presidential candidate Sarah Cooper said her security concerns are more in line with Finn’s view.
“[We] don’t know about hacking and that’s been something that’s happened at a bunch of other schools,” Cooper said.
In Carleton’s BOG elections, which went online last year, there were two hacking attempts.
However, deputy university secretary Anne Bauer said the system “intercepted” the attempts and the votes didn’t count, which is why there was no re-vote.
In the ruling, Carleton ombudsperson Jim Kennelly said online elections, including possible hacking, hadn’t been fully sorted out.
“The electronic ballot with such large numbers and a variety of ballots is untested at Carleton. It could require tech support that could be difficult to put into place. Very little, if any promotion, of an electronic voting has taken place,” Kennelly wrote. “It had been hoped that training and even a mock election could have been held in advance of the vote.”
Another concern Cooper said she has about online elections is its effect on student jobs.
“I think that poll clerking is a really important student job and I’m not sure how that’s going to work if it’s online,” she said.
However, Golovko said the jobs would be the same, simply transferred. At the Jan. 26 council meeting, the decision was to continue employing poll clerks.
Golovko argued online would increase voter turnout.
“There was a 30 per cent voter turnout increase [in the BOG elections] which I think is very good . . . putting elections online should bump up the turnout rates and altogether bring a more fair and transparent election.”
The remaining concern is whether or not there must be amendments to the electoral code if CUSA makes a permanent move to online elections.
Possible amendments were discussed at a Jan. 26 council meeting where the motion to move to online elections was passed, but more could be needed as the logistics of an online election are worked out in the coming months.
Cooper said she just wants students to vote.
“I want people to care about who they’re voting for,” she said.
