By Guest Columnist

There have been various news accounts about my role in fundraising for the Independent Party of Oregon’s upcoming statewide election. The stories include excerpts from recordings of conversations secretly taped by a Democratic state senator and a Senate Democratic staffer in which I asked candidates to help defray the cost of holding a full and fair Internet election. I made mistakes.

My rationale for asking these candidates to donate was simple and maybe too naive: I thought that if a candidate was committed to an open process and seeking nomination from thousands of voters, then he or she might have an interest in helping the process — making sure the election is held by an experienced Internet voting firm, that all party members receive mail notice of their secure log-on codes, and that the results are certified as unimpeachable and fair. Read the rest of this entry »