Germany looks to Internet voting

BERLIN, Germany -- Germany has outlined plans to allow online voting in national elections.

Interior minister Otto Schily said Germans would be able to vote anywhere in the country at polling stations linked electronically under the scheme, instead of being restricted to home districts.

He told an Internet democracy conference that some voters should be able to vote online in 2006, and voting from any Internet-connected computer may be possible by 2010.

But the system will not be in place by Germany's next national election in 2002.

Schily told conference delegates in Berlin that security and reliability in an online voting system would be more important than speed and ease of access.

"We want to be totally sure that electoral integrity will be maintained, so this will be a step-by-step process," Schily said. "There must be no doubts about the results of online elections."

Germany has been cautious in exploiting the Internet for online voting after spending decades rebuilding democracy after the Nazi era and strengthening rights to privacy.

Although the United States has seen some instances of online voting, it has mainly been restricted to commercial organisations allowing shareholders to vote and to mock ballots being held by state and local governments.

Deputy Interior Minister Brigitte Zypries said the city state of Bremen was leading the country in developing an Internet system, and could have one in place before 2006.

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