A program is being finalized this month that will allow some Florida voters to cast their ballots via Internet at overseas locations.
Voters registered in Okaloosa County will be able to vote from special kiosks set up outside RAF Mildenhall, England; Ramstein Air Base, Germany; and Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, starting later this month.
The state gave final approval to the program on Sept. 26, according to Carol Paquette of Operation BRAVO, a non-profit foundation that is spearheading the $500,000 initiative.
Locations outside base gates have been established for Mildenhall and Ramstein, and the Kadena plans should be wrapped up soon, Paquette said.
The polls will be open for 10 days starting Oct. 24. According to county records, 600 to 700 registered Okaloosa voters stationed at these bases are eligible to vote, Paquette said.
Okaloosa, in northwestern Florida, supports three military bases — Eglin Air Force Base, Hurlburt Field and Duke Field — making military members an important force in the county. Okaloosa is sending trained poll workers to each site to run the program.
The project is unprecedented in the American electoral system.
Many states allow for electronic transmission of balloting materials by e-mail or fax, but sending a completed ballot electronically is a new concept in this election cycle.
The system will have numerous safeguards, including encryption, to guarantee ballot integrity, Paquette said. In addition, paper records of each vote will be generated for county officials to match with the electronic votes when it’s time to tabulate, she said.
"We have multiple layers of encryption to protect the ballots," Paquette said. "As each voter votes, their ballot selections will be immediately sent to a secure server in a secure data center.
They are stored there until the election is over and the Okaloosa folks are ready to review the ballots. Only the canvassing board has the key to decrypt the ballots."
But some aren’t convinced the system is safe.
Even with the protections available, the "fundamental architecture" of the Internet means this kind of voting is not yet a safe option, according to Dan McCrea, president of the Florida Voters Coalition.
"These digital ballots that are being transmitted (via the Internet) still travel all over the world and are subject to interception and manipulation," McCrea said.
McCrea said he recognizes the problems and challenges faced by overseas and military voters, but that this is not the solution, and with a $500,000 price tag, it won’t be easily replicated.
"This is a slick, high-tech solution that’s kind of sexy, but it skips over the security problems," McCrea said.
"While it may feel good, it isn’t safe."
The technology comes from Scytl, a Spain-based company specializing in electronic voting. McCrea said the proprietary nature of the software being used means it isn’t transparent, and as a result officials don’t know everything about it.
The Florida Division of Elections conducted numerous tests on the system since this summer, according to Florida Department of States spokeswoman Jennifer Krell Davis.
The technology involved will essentially create a "virtual tunnel" through which the data will flow without interference, she said in an e-mail, and voters will be able to confirm transmission of their ballot with Okaloosa’s election office.
Okaloosa voters stationed at Ramstein, Mildenhall or Kadena can expect more information in the mail regarding the program, Paquette said, but reaching these voters can be difficult due to the transient nature of military life.
"It’s kind of an inexact process to identify these voters," she said.
How to participate
Are you registered to vote in Okaloosa County, Fla., and stationed at RAF Mildenhall, England; Ramstein Air Base, Germany; or Kadena Air Base, Okinawa? If so, you might be eligible to vote via Internet under a pilot program. For more information, e-mail Pat Hollarn, Okaloosa’s head of elections, at phollarn@co.okaloosa.fl.us.
