Reform Party to Hold Online Vote

The Reform Party plans to take the plunge into Internet voting this summer, party Chairman Gerry Moan said. Over the next several weeks, party members will receive a personal identification number in the mail that will enable them to cast their ballot for the party’s presidential nominee online during a brief period in late July or early August.

Moan said he originally hoped to leave the online voting open for a longer period of time leading up to the party’s national convention, scheduled for Aug. 10-13 in Long Beach, but was advised that might make the process more vulnerable to hackers. Moan said the Seattle-based technology firm eBallot, which will conduct the vote, has assured him the process will be secret and secure.

The Arizona Democratic Party conducted the first binding online vote during its presidential primary earlier this year. Moan said it was the success of that effort that led him to suggest online voting for the Reform Party.