Online Voting…A Secret Ballot

In an attempt to make it easier for CNTA members to vote upon the school and district wide issues that may affect them, CNTA has begun to phase in the on-line voting process.

Reviewing The Vote By Mail Process.

Currently, voting at CNTA is conducted by mail. The vote is a secret ballot. The process is as follows:

Members are sent a self-addressed paid return envelope and a ballot:

The teacher fills out the ballot and mails it back to CNTA after signing the back of the envelope.

NOTE: There is no way to certify that the person who signed is actually that person, much the same as is the case for absentee ballots from the Registrar of Voters.

When received, the ballots are separated from the envelope so that the ballot stands alone.

Online voting is designed to emulate this process.

A brief primer on the Internet.

Every computer that is on the internet has a unique identifier known as an IP (Internet Protocol) address. This address is used to identify the computer requesting information so that the information requested can be returned to that computer.

In essence, a computer is analogous to the voting envelope which the voting teacher would sign.

The Online Voting Process

While sitting at any computer, the voting teacher must first get a ballot. This is done by going to the CNTA website and clicking on the hot link to ‘Cast A Ballot’ for an issue or an individual as announced to the membership using the CNTA Broadcast E-mail system.

Once the teacher clicks on the link, they are taken to a secure website where they are required to enter their last name and a personal identification number. They then click the ‘Login’ button and are taken to the actual ballot assuming that they have NOT previously voted and that the information that they entered has matched the information on file at CNTA.

On the ballot page, the teacher will see a ballot explanation and the list of available ballot choices. The teacher indicates his/her choice and then clicks on the button on the ballot to cast their vote.

The teacher is then taken to a page that displays their ballot choice and is given the option to change their vote before it is entered into the voting system. Once the teacher confirms his/her ballot selection, their vote is cast. A page is then displayed informing them that their vote has been registered. The teacher is also encouraged at that time to print out that page as a hard copy of their vote.

When a vote is successful, the computer IP address and the date of the vote is associated with the last name and personal identifying number provided by the teacher.

Recording The Vote Information

Note: The computer where voting information is warehoused is a separate and secure computer that cannot be accessed by CNUSD or CNTA.

The Online Ballot has now been essentially “mailed” to CNTA. The vote is recorded in two separate files. The first file is, in essence, the back of the envelope previously discussed and the file is shown below:

The file records the date that the vote was cast and the IP address of the computer that provided the information. The Last Name and personal identifying number certifies the voter and the IP address provides a unique audit trail to insure that the information was not fabricated.

In order to maintain vote secrecy, the vote that was cast by each teacher is placed in a separate file, similar to separating the ballot from the envelope. It does not have any personal information associated with it, as shown below:

Each vote is recorded in this manner. Because the voting teacher and his/her vote is separated, ballot secrecy is maintained.

A tally page is provided to CNTA for official use and the election results are published to teachers once voting is closed.