[Linux-aus] Grant request: Contribution to Senate voting source code FOI request review.

[Benno Rice]

On 24 Jun 2014, at 2:51 am, Bret Busby <bret at busby.net> wrote:

[snip]

> Oh, and, one thing that people should bear in mind.
> 
> Despite what some believe, Australia does not have "freedom of speech", 
> especially when it comes to the surreptitious workings of the electoral 
> system.
> 
> And, apart from that, the workings of the AEC, are not open to public 
> scrutiny.
> 
> Some of you may remember, some years ago, a person attempted to reveal 
> to the people of Australia, how they could fill out a ballot form, if 
> they wanted to cast their votes for only the candidates for whom they 
> wanted to vote, and still cast valid votes (the system requires people 
> to vote for people for whom they do not want to vote, in order to cast a 
> valid vote), and, for his trying to make the voting process, open and 
> accountable, and, to informm people how they could achieve voting for 
> only the candidates for whom they wanted to vote, was sent to prison.
> 
> And, after he had revealed how people cpould vote for only the 
> candidates for whom they wanted to vote, apart from that person being 
> sent to prison, to gag him, the law was changed, to prevent people from 
> voting for only the candidates for whom they wanted to vote.
> 
> So, if the FOI application is pursued, beware of an unexpected knock on 
> the door - it could be the NSA, about to disappear you (and, to 
> disappear the Linux Australia committee, if it provides assistance).
> 
> It may be safer, to concentrate on the cause of Linux, apart from the 
> aspect of whether that should be the limit of the objective(s) of Linux 
> Australia.

Oh please.

Allowing the citizens of a country to see the process by which their votes are counted is just a _tiny_ bit different to encouraging them not to vote, or to vote informally. Mr. Cordover is pursuing a completely legal Freedom of Information request through the appropriate appeals process. I suspect that if the Shadowy Powers that Be are going to cause trouble here they’ll just ensure that the appeal fails rather than disappearing anyone.

I mean wow, anyone’d think you were trying to bolster a rather marginal argument by invoking the NSA as some kind of bugbear!

For anyone who wants the background of what Mr. Busby’s on about, I refer you to:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Langer

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.linux.org.au/pipermail/linux-aus/attachments/20140624/57c2230c/attachment.htm 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: signature.asc
Type: application/pgp-signature
Size: 841 bytes
Desc: Message signed with OpenPGP using GPGMail
Url : http://lists.linux.org.au/pipermail/linux-aus/attachments/20140624/57c2230c/attachment.pgp