TORONTO, January 22, 2021 – Innovators worldwide have commercialized a multiplicity of new technologies to support online electoral voting, as jurisdictions increase the convenience, accessibility, privacy, and efficiency of their elections. Maintaining electoral integrity and public trust is vital for realizing the potential benefits of online voting. However, these new technologies are not governed by the overarching standards for online electoral voting that would assure citizens that their votes will be counted accurately, securely, and privately.
Canada is an early adopter of online voting, with more than 240 municipalities and 90 First Nations having deployed online voting in elections with millions of voters. We are well-placed to lead the development of robust requirements for the security and operability of online voting technologies.
The CIO Strategy Council has established a new technical committee in response to recommendations made to its Standards Policy Committee. The technical committee will inform and drive the development of a suite of national standards to support the implementation of online electoral voting technologies. These standards will specify minimum requirements for digital identity and authentication, data access, storage, privacy, security, and testing, and provisions for network and computational resources, capacity, and accessibility.
The CIO Strategy Council invites interested parties from across the country to form the Council’s technical committee. We seek a range of expertise, including technical, legal, and electoral that reflects the diversity of citizens who are the ultimate users and beneficiaries of this technology. For more information or any questions about the Council’s standards development activities, please contact Matthew MacNeil.
About CIO Strategy Council
The CIO Strategy Council is Canada’s national forum that brings together the country’s most forward-thinking chief information officers and executive technology leaders to collectively mobilize on common digital priorities. Cutting across major sectors of the Canadian economy – public, private and not for profit – the Council harnesses the collective expertise and action of Canada’s CIOs to accelerate Canada’s digital transformation. In 2019, the Standards Council of Canada accredited the CIO Strategy Council to develop National Standards of Canada supporting the data-driven economy. Learn more at www.ciostrategycouncil.com.
About CIO Strategy Council Standards Policy Committee
The Standards Policy Committee governs the Council’s standardization policies, sets standardization priorities and is responsible for coordinating standards development activities by establishing, dissolving and assigning responsibility to technical committees; approving new technical work; determining priorities; and maintaining the Council’s standards policies, procedures and other rules for the technical work.
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For media inquiries:
Katie Gibson
Vice President, Strategy and Partnership
CIO Strategy Council
katie.gibson@ciostrategycouncil.com