Security & Design Documents for Electronic Voting (2024)
Dear ACT Electoral Commission,
In accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 2016, I apply for access to documents held by the Commission relating to the requirements, design, implementation, and security of electronic voting for the 2024 legislative assembly election.
I ask that the documents be supplied to me in electronic form by reply email to this address.
If identical documents were already supplied in 2020 or 2021, there is no need to supply them again. For example, I already have the documents you supplied here:
https://www.righttoknow.org.au/request/v...
Disclosure of the information requested is in the public interest due to:
- the general public interest in maintaining election integrity and confidence in the results of elections;
- the general public interest in maintaining confidence in the security of Australian government information systems in light of increasing domestic and foreign cybersecurity threats; and
- the specific interest of the computer security research community in security vulnerabilities in electronic voting systems, including EVACS, the NSW iVote system, and similar overseas systems, which have been formally studied by academic researchers and covered in technology industry media.
I thank you for your consideration of this request and look forward to your response.
Yours faithfully,
T Wilson-Brown
Dear ACT Electoral Commission,
I understand the 10 working day deadline for acknowledging this request elapsed today.
So I just wanted to check that you received this request on 9 May 2024?
Yours faithfully,
T Wilson-Brown
OFFICIAL
Good morning
I confirm that we received your application on 9 May 2024. Our acknowledgement was sent yesterday Thursday 23 May, which was ten working days from the date of receipt.
I apologise if you did not receive the acknowledgement yesterday. It was sent at 10:45am to your Right to Know email address mailto:[FOI #11396 email]. A copy of the acknowledgement email is attached.
Could you please let me know that you have received this. And please contact me if you have any further questions.
thanks
Rachel
Rachel U'Ren (she/her) | Complaints and Records Manager
Phone: (02) 6205 0033 | Email: [ACT Electoral Commission request email]
Elections ACT | ACT Government
3 Constitution Ave, Canberra | GPO Box 172 Canberra ACT 2601 http://www.elections.act.gov.au/
-----Original Message-----
From: T Wilson-Brown <[FOI #11396 email]>
Sent: Thursday, May 23, 2024 6:12 PM
To: Elections ACT <[email address]>
Subject: Re: Freedom of Information request - Security & Design Documents for Electronic Voting (2024)
[You don't often get email from [FOI #11396 email]. Learn why this is important at https://aka.ms/LearnAboutSenderIdentific... ]
Caution: This email originated from outside of the ACT Government. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognise the sender and know the content is safe. Learn why this is important<http://www.act.gov.au/emailsecurity>
Dear ACT Electoral Commission,
I understand the 10 working day deadline for acknowledging this request elapsed today.
So I just wanted to check that you received this request on 9 May 2024?
Yours faithfully,
T Wilson-Brown
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #11396 email]
This request has been made by an individual using Right to Know. This message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet. More information on how Right to Know works can be found at:
https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...
Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will be delayed.
If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
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This email, and any attachments, may be confidential and also privileged. If you are not the intended recipient, please notify the sender and delete all copies of this transmission along with any attachments immediately. You should not copy or use it for any purpose, nor disclose its contents to any other person.
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Dear Elections ACT,
Thank you, I’ve received your response today. I’ll ask the site admins to check why yesterday’s email got lost.
Yours sincerely,
T Wilson-Brown
OFFICIAL
Dear T Wilson-Brown
THIRD PARTY CONSULTATION UNDER THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2016
I refer to your access application under the Freedom of Information Act 2016 (FOI Act), received by Elections ACT on 9 May 2024.
I am writing to tell you that we have identified information relevant to your application that concerns the affairs of a third party. This information is expected to be of concern to the third party because it relates to their personal or business affairs, or the affairs of a government or government agency. Under section 38 of the FOI Act, we are required to consult with the third party before making a decision on the release of this information.
The decision-maker will take into account any comments we receive from the third party. However, the final decision on whether to grant you access to the information requested rests with the decision-maker.
Under section 40 (1) of the FOI Act, we must respond to your application within 30 working days of receipt, not 20 working days as previously advised. I apologise for the administrative error in my acknowledgement email dated 23 May (below). Section 40 (2) provides for an additional 15 working days in order to allow us to consult with a third party.
Therefore a decision on your access application is now due on 15 July 2024.
If you have any questions in relation to your access application, please contact me on (02) 6205 0033 or [ACT Electoral Commission request email]
Yours sincerely,
Rachel
Rachel U'Ren (she/her) | Complaints and Records Manager
Phone: (02) 6205 0033 | Email: [ACT Electoral Commission request email]
Elections ACT | ACT Government
3 Constitution Ave, Canberra | GPO Box 172 Canberra ACT 2601 http://www.elections.act.gov.au/
-----Original Message-----
From: Elections ACT
Sent: Thursday, May 23, 2024 10:45 AM
To: mailto:[FOI #11396 email]
Subject: EACTFOI-20240509-02 - Acknowledgement
Dear Tim Wilson-Brown
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF YOUR ACCESS APPLICATION
I am writing to acknowledge receipt of the access application you made under the Freedom of Information Act 2016 (FOI Act) dated 9 May 2024.
This application requested access to:
"...documents held by the Commission relating to the requirements, design, implementation, and security of electronic voting for the 2024 legislative assembly election.
I ask that the documents be supplied to me in electronic form by reply email to this address.
If identical documents were already supplied in 2020 or 2021, there is no need to supply them again. For example, I already have the documents you supplied here:
https://www.righttoknow.org.au/request/v...
Timeframe
Your application was received by Elections ACT on 9 May 2024. Under the FOI Act, we have 20 working days from this date to process your access application.
As a result, you should expect a decision from us by 7 June 2024. This period may, however, be extended if we need to consult third parties or for other reasons set out in the FOI Act. We will notify you if this is the case.
Charges
You will not be charged unless we advise you that charges are payable in relation to your access application, and you choose to proceed.
Disclosure Log
Please note that section 28 of the FOI Act requires publication of access applications and any information subsequently released on our disclosure log at https://www.elections.act.gov.au/about_u....
This means that if you are granted access to the information requested, it will also be made publicly available on our website, unless your access application is for personal information, or information about your business, commercial, financial or professional affairs where the publication of the information would be unreasonable in the circumstances.
Further assistance
If you have any questions in relation to your access application, please contact me on (02) 6205 0033 or [ACT Electoral Commission request email]
Yours sincerely
Rachel U'Ren
Rachel U'Ren (she/her) | Complaints and Records Manager
Phone: (02) 6205 0033 | Email: [ACT Electoral Commission request email] Elections ACT | ACT Government
3 Constitution Ave, Canberra | GPO Box 172 Canberra ACT 2601 http://www.elections.act.gov.au/
-----Original Message-----
From: T Wilson-Brown <[FOI #11396 email]>
Sent: Thursday, May 9, 2024 12:19 PM
To: Elections ACT <[email address]>
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Security & Design Documents for Electronic Voting (2024)
[You don't often get email from [FOI #11396 email]. Learn why this is important at https://aka.ms/LearnAboutSenderIdentific... ]
Caution: This email originated from outside of the ACT Government. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognise the sender and know the content is safe. Learn why this is important<http://www.act.gov.au/emailsecurity>
Dear ACT Electoral Commission,
In accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 2016, I apply for access to documents held by the Commission relating to the requirements, design, implementation, and security of electronic voting for the 2024 legislative assembly election.
I ask that the documents be supplied to me in electronic form by reply email to this address.
If identical documents were already supplied in 2020 or 2021, there is no need to supply them again. For example, I already have the documents you supplied here:
https://www.righttoknow.org.au/request/v...
Disclosure of the information requested is in the public interest due to:
- the general public interest in maintaining election integrity and confidence in the results of elections;
- the general public interest in maintaining confidence in the security of Australian government information systems in light of increasing domestic and foreign cybersecurity threats; and
- the specific interest of the computer security research community in security vulnerabilities in electronic voting systems, including EVACS, the NSW iVote system, and similar overseas systems, which have been formally studied by academic researchers and covered in technology industry media.
I thank you for your consideration of this request and look forward to your response.
Yours faithfully,
T Wilson-Brown
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #11396 email]
Is [ACT Electoral Commission request email] the wrong address for Freedom of Information requests to ACT Electoral Commission? If so, please contact us using this form:
https://www.righttoknow.org.au/change_re...
This request has been made by an individual using Right to Know. This message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet. More information on how Right to Know works can be found at:
https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...
Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will be delayed.
If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
This email, and any attachments, may be confidential and also privileged. If you are not the intended recipient, please notify the sender and delete all copies of this transmission along with any attachments immediately. You should not copy or use it for any purpose, nor disclose its contents to any other person.
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Dear T Wilson-Brown
Please find attached documents relating to your FOI access application:
- Decision letter and statement of decisions
- Schedule of documents
Released documents will be sent in two separate emails after this one.
Yours sincerely
Rachel U'Ren (she/her) | Complaints and Records Manager
Phone: (02) 6205 0033 | Email: [ACT Electoral Commission request email]
Elections ACT | ACT Government
3 Constitution Ave, Canberra | GPO Box 172 Canberra ACT 2601 |http://www.elections.act.gov.au/
-----Original Message-----
From: T Wilson-Brown <[FOI #11396 email]>
Sent: Thursday, May 9, 2024 12:19 PM
To: Elections ACT <[email address]>
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Security & Design Documents for Electronic Voting (2024)
[You don't often get email from [FOI #11396 email]. Learn why this is important at https://aka.ms/LearnAboutSenderIdentific... ]
Caution: This email originated from outside of the ACT Government. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognise the sender and know the content is safe. Learn why this is important<http://www.act.gov.au/emailsecurity>
Dear ACT Electoral Commission,
In accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 2016, I apply for access to documents held by the Commission relating to the requirements, design, implementation, and security of electronic voting for the 2024 legislative assembly election.
I ask that the documents be supplied to me in electronic form by reply email to this address.
If identical documents were already supplied in 2020 or 2021, there is no need to supply them again. For example, I already have the documents you supplied here:
https://www.righttoknow.org.au/request/v...
Disclosure of the information requested is in the public interest due to:
- the general public interest in maintaining election integrity and confidence in the results of elections;
- the general public interest in maintaining confidence in the security of Australian government information systems in light of increasing domestic and foreign cybersecurity threats; and
- the specific interest of the computer security research community in security vulnerabilities in electronic voting systems, including EVACS, the NSW iVote system, and similar overseas systems, which have been formally studied by academic researchers and covered in technology industry media.
I thank you for your consideration of this request and look forward to your response.
Yours faithfully,
T Wilson-Brown
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #11396 email]
Is [ACT Electoral Commission request email] the wrong address for Freedom of Information requests to ACT Electoral Commission? If so, please contact us using this form:
https://www.righttoknow.org.au/change_re...
This request has been made by an individual using Right to Know. This message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet. More information on how Right to Know works can be found at:
https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...
Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will be delayed.
If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
This email, and any attachments, may be confidential and also privileged. If you are not the intended recipient, please notify the sender and delete all copies of this transmission along with any attachments immediately. You should not copy or use it for any purpose, nor disclose its contents to any other person.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear T Wilson-Brown
Please find attached documents relating to your FOI access application:
- Released documents, numbers 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8
Yours sincerely
Rachel U'Ren (she/her) | Complaints and Records Manager
Phone: (02) 6205 0033 | Email: [ACT Electoral Commission request email]
Elections ACT | ACT Government
3 Constitution Ave, Canberra | GPO Box 172 Canberra ACT 2601 |http://www.elections.act.gov.au/
-----Original Message-----
From: T Wilson-Brown <[FOI #11396 email]>
Sent: Thursday, May 9, 2024 12:19 PM
To: Elections ACT <[email address]>
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Security & Design Documents for Electronic Voting (2024)
[You don't often get email from [FOI #11396 email]. Learn why this is important at https://aka.ms/LearnAboutSenderIdentific... ]
Caution: This email originated from outside of the ACT Government. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognise the sender and know the content is safe. Learn why this is important<http://www.act.gov.au/emailsecurity>
Dear ACT Electoral Commission,
In accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 2016, I apply for access to documents held by the Commission relating to the requirements, design, implementation, and security of electronic voting for the 2024 legislative assembly election.
I ask that the documents be supplied to me in electronic form by reply email to this address.
If identical documents were already supplied in 2020 or 2021, there is no need to supply them again. For example, I already have the documents you supplied here:
https://www.righttoknow.org.au/request/v...
Disclosure of the information requested is in the public interest due to:
- the general public interest in maintaining election integrity and confidence in the results of elections;
- the general public interest in maintaining confidence in the security of Australian government information systems in light of increasing domestic and foreign cybersecurity threats; and
- the specific interest of the computer security research community in security vulnerabilities in electronic voting systems, including EVACS, the NSW iVote system, and similar overseas systems, which have been formally studied by academic researchers and covered in technology industry media.
I thank you for your consideration of this request and look forward to your response.
Yours faithfully,
T Wilson-Brown
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #11396 email]
Is [ACT Electoral Commission request email] the wrong address for Freedom of Information requests to ACT Electoral Commission? If so, please contact us using this form:
https://www.righttoknow.org.au/change_re...
This request has been made by an individual using Right to Know. This message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet. More information on how Right to Know works can be found at:
https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...
Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will be delayed.
If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
This email, and any attachments, may be confidential and also privileged. If you are not the intended recipient, please notify the sender and delete all copies of this transmission along with any attachments immediately. You should not copy or use it for any purpose, nor disclose its contents to any other person.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear T Wilson-Brown
Please find attached documents relating to your FOI access application:
- Released documents, numbers 9-14
Yours sincerely
Rachel U'Ren (she/her) | Complaints and Records Manager
Phone: (02) 6205 0033 | Email: [ACT Electoral Commission request email]
Elections ACT | ACT Government
3 Constitution Ave, Canberra | GPO Box 172 Canberra ACT 2601 |http://www.elections.act.gov.au/
-----Original Message-----
From: T Wilson-Brown <[FOI #11396 email]>
Sent: Thursday, May 9, 2024 12:19 PM
To: Elections ACT <[email address]>
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Security & Design Documents for Electronic Voting (2024)
[You don't often get email from [FOI #11396 email]. Learn why this is important at https://aka.ms/LearnAboutSenderIdentific... ]
Caution: This email originated from outside of the ACT Government. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognise the sender and know the content is safe. Learn why this is important<http://www.act.gov.au/emailsecurity>
Dear ACT Electoral Commission,
In accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 2016, I apply for access to documents held by the Commission relating to the requirements, design, implementation, and security of electronic voting for the 2024 legislative assembly election.
I ask that the documents be supplied to me in electronic form by reply email to this address.
If identical documents were already supplied in 2020 or 2021, there is no need to supply them again. For example, I already have the documents you supplied here:
https://www.righttoknow.org.au/request/v...
Disclosure of the information requested is in the public interest due to:
- the general public interest in maintaining election integrity and confidence in the results of elections;
- the general public interest in maintaining confidence in the security of Australian government information systems in light of increasing domestic and foreign cybersecurity threats; and
- the specific interest of the computer security research community in security vulnerabilities in electronic voting systems, including EVACS, the NSW iVote system, and similar overseas systems, which have been formally studied by academic researchers and covered in technology industry media.
I thank you for your consideration of this request and look forward to your response.
Yours faithfully,
T Wilson-Brown
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #11396 email]
Is [ACT Electoral Commission request email] the wrong address for Freedom of Information requests to ACT Electoral Commission? If so, please contact us using this form:
https://www.righttoknow.org.au/change_re...
This request has been made by an individual using Right to Know. This message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet. More information on how Right to Know works can be found at:
https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...
Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will be delayed.
If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
This email, and any attachments, may be confidential and also privileged. If you are not the intended recipient, please notify the sender and delete all copies of this transmission along with any attachments immediately. You should not copy or use it for any purpose, nor disclose its contents to any other person.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Elections ACT,
Thank you for these documents. I understand they will be posted to your FOI disclosure log within 3-10 business days?
I just wanted to check if that was still happening, because other recent FOIs have not been logged there yet. For example, EACTFOI 20240509 01 was due to be logged around Monday 8 July.
Yours sincerely,
Ty Wilson-Brown
OFFICIAL
Dear Ty
Thanks for your email.
I confirm that these documents will be published on our disclosure log between 3-10 days from the date of decision, in accordance with s28(4) of the FOI Act. That is between 18 and 27 July.
In relation to EACTFOI-20240509-01, the documents were published on Monday 8 July. Subsequently our new website went live, and it looks like the FOI page did not have the latest version of the disclosure log. Thanks for pointing that out, this has now been corrected.
Thanks,
Rachel
Rachel U'Ren (she/her) | Complaints and Records Manager
Phone: (02) 6205 0033 | Email: [ACT Electoral Commission request email]
Elections ACT | ACT Government
3 Constitution Ave, Canberra | GPO Box 172 Canberra ACT 2601 | www.elections.act.gov.au
-----Original Message-----
From: Ty Wilson-Brown <[FOI #11396 email]>
Sent: Monday, July 15, 2024 5:19 PM
To: Elections ACT <[email address]>
Subject: Re: EACTFOI-20240509-02 - Decision on your access application (email 3 of 3)
Caution: This email originated from outside of the ACT Government. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognise the sender and know the content is safe.
Dear Elections ACT,
Thank you for these documents. I understand they will be posted to your FOI disclosure log within 3-10 business days?
I just wanted to check if that was still happening, because other recent FOIs have not been logged there yet. For example, EACTFOI 20240509 01 was due to be logged around Monday 8 July.
Yours sincerely,
Ty Wilson-Brown
-----Original Message-----
Dear T Wilson-Brown
Please find attached documents relating to your FOI access application:
- Released documents, numbers 9-14
Yours sincerely
Rachel U'Ren (she/her) | Complaints and Records Manager
Phone: (02) 6205 0033 | Email: [ACT Electoral Commission request email] Elections ACT | ACT Government
3 Constitution Ave, Canberra | GPO Box 172 Canberra ACT 2601 |http://www.elections.act.gov.au/
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #11396 email]
This request has been made by an individual using Right to Know. This message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet. More information on how Right to Know works can be found at:
https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...
Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will be delayed.
If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
This email, and any attachments, may be confidential and also privileged. If you are not the intended recipient, please notify the sender and delete all copies of this transmission along with any attachments immediately. You should not copy or use it for any purpose, nor disclose its contents to any other person.
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