Documents relating to proposed limited electronic voting option

Andrew made this Freedom of Information request to ACT Electoral Commission

This request has been closed to new correspondence from the public body. Contact us if you think it ought be re-opened.

The request was refused by ACT Electoral Commission.

Dear ACT Electoral Commission,

In accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 2016, I apply for access to documents held by the Commission in relation to its proposal for a "limited electronic voting option" as referred to in the Commission's report to the Legislative Assembly of 11 September 2019.

The specific documents I request are:

- Election Management System Modernisation Project RFT 31093.110 and contract 31093.210

- Documents used in the preparation of the Commission's report to the Assembly of 11 September 2019

- Documents (including internal and external correspondence) regarding the security and verifiability requirements of the limited electronic voting option

- Minutes of 2018-2020 meetings of the Electoral Commission, the ICT Steering Committee, and any other relevant internal committee or working group, to the extent that they discuss the limited electronic voting option

I ask that the documents be supplied to me in electronic form by reply email to this address.

Disclosure of the information requested is in the public interest due to:

- the general public interest in maintaining election integrity and confidence in the results of elections

- the general public interest in maintaining confidence in the security of Australian government information systems in light of increasing domestic and foreign cybersecurity threats which have targetted a number of politically-sensitive Australian institutions

- the specific interest of the computer security research community in security vulnerabilities in internet voting systems, including the NSW iVote system and a number of comparable systems used overseas which have been formally studied by academic researchers and covered in technology industry media (e.g. https://people.eng.unimelb.edu.au/vjteag...)

I thank you for your consideration of this request and look forward to your response.

Yours faithfully,

Andrew

Dear ACT Electoral Commission,

To clarify my request, my request for documents relating to the awarded contract 31093.210 is a request for the original contract including the Statement of Requirements, rather than the redacted version posted on the Tenders ACT website.

Yours faithfully,

Andrew

Elections, ACT Electoral Commission

1 Attachment

UNCLASSIFIED

Dear Andrew,

Please find attached a letter of acknowledgement in relation to your FOI request. You will note in the letter that I am seeking your agreement to an extension of time to process the FOI request due to my imminent leave.

Ro Spence | Acting Electoral Commissioner
ACT Electoral Commission
Phone: 02 6205 0224 | [mobile number]
[email address] | www.elections.act.gov.au | facebook | twitter | youtube
Level 6, 221 London Circuit, Canberra City

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Dear Mr Spence,

Thank you very much for your quick acknowledgement.

I understand your constraints and I am happy to agree to start the processing period on 3 February as you propose. I hope your leave goes well.

Yours sincerely,

Andrew

Elections, ACT Electoral Commission

UNCLASSIFIED

Appreciated Andrew. I'll be in touch.

Ro Spence | Acting Electoral Commissioner
ACT Electoral Commission
Phone: 02 6205 0224 | [mobile number]
[email address] | www.elections.act.gov.au | facebook | twitter | youtube
Level 6, 221 London Circuit, Canberra City

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Spence, Rohan, ACT Electoral Commission

1 Attachment

  • Attachment

    letter FOI Third party consultation notice to applicant 19 February 2020.pdf

    124K Download View as HTML

UNCLASSIFIED

Hello Andrew,

 

Please find attached a letter in relation to your FOI application
regarding third party consultation.

 

Also, as discussed in this letter, I would like to speak to you more
informally about the information you are seeking and this FOI process. If
you are agreeable I would appreciate the provision of a phone number on
which to contact you or for you to contact me on the number below (and in
the letter).

 

Thanks Andrew.

 

Ro Spence | Deputy Electoral Commissioner

ACT Electoral Commission

Phone: 02 6205 0224 | [mobile number]

[1][email address] | [2]www.elections.act.gov.au | [3]facebook |
[4]twitter | [5]youtube

Level 6, 221 London Circuit, Canberra City

 

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References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. http://www.elections.act.gov.au/
3. http://www.facebook.com/ElectionsACT
4. http://www.twitter.com/ElectionsACT
5. http://www.youtube.com/user/ElectionsACT

Spence, Rohan, ACT Electoral Commission

UNCLASSIFIED

 

Hello Andrew,

 

Are you able to confirm whether you received my email below and whether
you would be agreeable to a conversation about your application for
information?

 

Ro Spence | Deputy Electoral Commissioner

ACT Electoral Commission

Phone: 02 6205 0224 | [mobile number]

[1][email address] | [2]www.elections.act.gov.au | [3]facebook |
[4]twitter | [5]youtube

Level 6, 221 London Circuit, Canberra City

 

From: Spence, Rohan
Sent: Wednesday, 19 February 2020 11:43 AM
To: Andrew <[FOI #6078 email]>
Subject: Third party consultation - advice to applicant

 

UNCLASSIFIED

 

Hello Andrew,

 

Please find attached a letter in relation to your FOI application
regarding third party consultation.

 

Also, as discussed in this letter, I would like to speak to you more
informally about the information you are seeking and this FOI process. If
you are agreeable I would appreciate the provision of a phone number on
which to contact you or for you to contact me on the number below (and in
the letter).

 

Thanks Andrew.

 

Ro Spence | Deputy Electoral Commissioner

ACT Electoral Commission

Phone: 02 6205 0224 | [mobile number]

[6][email address] | [7]www.elections.act.gov.au | [8]facebook |
[9]twitter | [10]youtube

Level 6, 221 London Circuit, Canberra City

 

show quoted sections

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. http://www.elections.act.gov.au/
3. http://www.facebook.com/ElectionsACT
4. http://www.twitter.com/ElectionsACT
5. http://www.youtube.com/user/ElectionsACT
6. mailto:[email address]
7. http://www.elections.act.gov.au/
8. http://www.facebook.com/ElectionsACT
9. http://www.twitter.com/ElectionsACT
10. http://www.youtube.com/user/ElectionsACT

Spence, Rohan, ACT Electoral Commission

UNCLASSIFIED

Hello Andrew.

 

I have been working on your access application, noting that the date for a
decision is (subject to no requests by third parties for an ombudsman
review process) this Friday 20 March 2020.

 

I am currently working through the development of the decision notice
which requires addressing each of the decisions made and the justification
for it. Unfortunately, my attention has been directed elsewhere over the
past week or so due to the ongoing and increasing threat of the current
Coronavirus pandemic. As I am sure you can appreciate, the effect of this
pandemic and its possible impacts upon society and how that may effect the
conduct of an election, is requiring extensive and detailed consideration.

 

Accordingly, I write to you once again seeking your agreement to an
extension in time to meet my FOI Act obligations in providing you with
access to the requested information and the accompanying decision notice.
I am not seeking a long extension as my work is nearing completion, but my
focus needs to currently be on the impact of this virus. Accordingly, I
now ask that you agree to provide a further two weeks for my work to be
completed. My request would see the provision of information and decision
notice on 3 April 2020.

 

I appreciate and apologise for the frustration and inconvenience that this
may cause and I await your response.

 

Ro Spence | Deputy Electoral Commissioner

ACT Electoral Commission

Phone: 02 6205 0224 | [mobile number]

[1][email address] | [2]www.elections.act.gov.au | [3]facebook |
[4]twitter | [5]youtube

Level 6, 221 London Circuit, Canberra City

 

show quoted sections

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. http://www.elections.act.gov.au/
3. http://www.facebook.com/ElectionsACT
4. http://www.twitter.com/ElectionsACT
5. http://www.youtube.com/user/ElectionsACT

Spence, Rohan, ACT Electoral Commission

1 Attachment

UNCLASSIFIED

Hello Andrew,

 

Please find attached a letter in relation to your access application.

 

Ro Spence | Deputy Electoral Commissioner

ACT Electoral Commission

Phone: 02 6205 0224 | [mobile number]

[1][email address] | [2]www.elections.act.gov.au | [3]facebook |
[4]twitter | [5]youtube

Level 6, 221 London Circuit, Canberra City

 

show quoted sections

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. http://www.elections.act.gov.au/
3. http://www.facebook.com/ElectionsACT
4. http://www.twitter.com/ElectionsACT
5. http://www.youtube.com/user/ElectionsACT

T Wilson-Brown left an annotation ()

This response from Elections ACT to a vote secrecy FOI contains some information about the overseas electronic voting system:
https://www.righttoknow.org.au/request/v...