Local politicians are reacting to the news that Elections BC has announced who will form the Independent Panel on Internet Voting.
Cariboo Regional District chair Al Richmond says elected officials would like to see more active participation at the polls, but the common concern is maintaining privacy and integrity in this method of voting.
The intimidation factor will be tricky to control at a remote terminal, Richmond adds, to be sure the person voting is doing so under his or her own free will and not under duress or intimidation.
"Seniors could be in homes, where people say 'just vote here, and do this', or 'oh, you can't see, well vote there'. I think there's a lot more opportunity for coercion."
The privacy secured at the polls or when an elections official goes to a hospital with a ballot box to assist a live-in patient will be a "challenge" to do via Internet voting, he explains.
"How do we ensure that only one person is at that computer terminal making that vote?
"We know when there's one person in a polling booth. We know they're not allowed to be talking in the polling station about who to vote for, or encouraging that."
Elections BC is acting under the direction of Attorney General Shirley Bond in convening this independent panel to examine the potential for Internet voting for provincial or local government elections.
The panel is tasked with looking at best practices in Internet voting in other jurisdictions across Canada and around the world.
"Most importantly," Bond says the panel will be examining all potential security and privacy concerns and how to address them before the Ministry of Justice will "even consider" its implementation.
She assigned B.C. chief electoral officer Keith Archer to chair the panel, who then announced the remaining selections early last month.
Richmond says he's pleased that a regional district representative is a member of the panel.
He knows Lee-Ann Crane, chief administrative officer of the East Kootenay Regional District. "She is a very proficient regional district administrator."
The remaining panel members are University of British Columbia associate professor Dr. Konstantin Beznosov; University of Victoria professor Dr. Valerie King; and former Auditor General George Morfitt.
Cariboo-Chilcotin MLA Donna Barnett says she approves of the panel selections, but has "lots of concerns" and agrees the panel’s task will be "an awful lot of work."
"From my point of view, somebody's going to have to make me 100 per cent comfortable that Internet voting cannot be hacked and it will be the person who should be there pushing that button, before I would ever support it."
Barnett adds she thinks it is "pretty sad" when the freedom of The Constitution of Canada and democracy "gets lost" – along with a part of Canada’s history and culture – by removing the act of showing one's face at the voting booth.
"It would be a shame to see that disappear. Maybe, Internet voting [is OK] for those who can't get out... but how are we going to be assured this is in total confidentiality?"
Barnett says she has concerns not only about coercion of voters, but also that those who don't care enough to vote will give their Internet pass code away, or even sell it.
While he can't speak for other families, Richmond notes that in his home, they maintain and respect each other's privacy.
"I [usually] don't know how my wife votes and she doesn't know how I vote, although we certainly know each other's political views.
"I think when you put the X next to someone's name at the ballot box, that's a personal decision."