List:
I would like to extend an invitation to the IETF list to read "The
Bell" -- the first newsletter entirely dedicated to Internet voting and
collaborative decision-making in Internet protocols (including the use
of digital certificates and the resulting security/privacy concerns from
potentially non-anonymous voting). Electronic and hard copy subscriptions
are available at www.thebell.net
Safevote [1] is sponsoring the newsletter as an open forum. Regarding
the name "The Bell", the idea was to use the image of a bell because
mission bells were used in colonial California for telling time,
announcing events, and for passing on news from one city to another.
This newsletter intends to serve similar purposes and is also a public
service open and free for all who may want it.
With monthly 16-page issues, the "The Bell" will focus on privacy,
security and technology used in Internet voting.
In Internet tradition, the newsletter is available free over the
Internet (PDF format), or at an annual cost of $30 for first class
mail delivery in hard copy. The first issue contains an extensive
marketing study of the year 2000 U.S. public elections market - a
study that will be serialized in upcoming issues. It also includes
an article on today's public voting systems used in the United States
by election expert Roy G. Saltman and an essay by myself outlining the
need for a strong separation between identification and authentication
in order to ensure fair Internet voting protocols.
Internet voting and its potential impact on society will increasingly
call upon us to understand and keep abreast of the latest developments
in various fields of work. As a developer in this market, I see a
widening gap between the 100-year-old voting technologies in use today
and what Internet voting protocols need to take into account. The Bell is
dedicated to help fill this gap -- perhaps with your help as well.
Cheers,
Ed Gerck
[1] Safevote (www.safevote.com) is a founding member of the Internet
Voting Technology Alliance (www.ivta.org) and develops OEM (Original
Equipment Manufacturer) systems for Internet voting, polling, public
elections, bidding, consensus assessment and other Internet decision-
making applications. The Bell is edited at Safevote. The May 2000 issue
is now available at the "The Bell" Web site, www.thebell.net