Session Topic: Open Voting: How can it connect with you?
Convenor: Michael Allan
Recorder:
Participants: (please add your name) Rosemary from the City of Toronto, and a representative from TVO
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Notes: 

Most of the time was spent answering questions about open voting (what is it?). The answers were mostly as explained in this concept document. Potential problems with the public aspect of the voting were raised, including:

• Social pressure, from church, union, etc. to vote in a certain way. The protection against this is that open voting is used only at the primary stage, for purposes of nominating candidates, or proposing legislation and other norms. Any distortions due to social pressure will be filitered out at the next stage. The candidates must still be elected, and this is by secret ballot (no social pressure). The proposed legislation must still be floored in the assembly, and voted (again, no social pressure here). For more details on this, and safeguards against other problems (such as vote buying), see this discussion thread.
• Fear of disclosing information in public. Voter lists were once public, and used to be posted on telephone poles for everyone to see. But no more, so people are used to the idea of more-or-less private voter registration. And they are used to a secret ballot. Many will be discouraged from participating in a fully public system. However, the scope of the problem is not yet known (pending beta trials). And a degree of privacy can always be introduced to open voting (see again this discussion thread), if necessary.

One suggested answer to the question: How can open voting connect with you?

• Municipal elections are coming up in Ontario in November, 2010 (and regularly, across Canada). If beta software is available by then, open voting can be used to nominate Mayors, Councillors, school trustees, and so forth.
  

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What Happens Next? - Rather than Solicit Connections, Suggest Them

People had difficulty seeing the connections, as requested, because they didn't understand what open voting is. In retrospect, it wasn't a very good question to ask. A better approach is for someone who already understands (like the convener) to visit the other sessions, discover the connections, and point them out. So that's the next step, and it's being recorded on the session Idea Page for Open Voting.