Register of Electors by internet

[Ian Mason]

On 1 Oct 2010, at 16:04, Peter Fairbrother wrote:

> Peter Gutmann wrote:
>> Peter Tomlinson <pwt at iosis.co.uk> writes:
>>> which immediately offers me:
>>>
>>>    https://www.registerbyinternet.com/Bristol/default.aspx
>>>
>>> and Kaspersky IS chokes on the digital certificate, because the  
>>> issuer isn't
>>> included in its base set of trusted certificate providers.
>> When I try and connect there I get a year-old (i.e. not hurriedly- 
>> replaced)
>> Verisign cert.
>
> Yes, I think it's likely to be a real site, for some value of "real".
>
>
>
> But I think that misses one point, which is why there is a  
> centralised site for electoral registration at all.
>
> AIUI these registers are kept by the local councils, not centrally.  
> Why can't the Councils just do it themselves? Why have a third  
> party do it?
>
> I don't know the details of the thinking behind this, if any, but  
> it seems on the face of it to be yet another centralising  
> information grab by someone.
>
> And that's bad, for the reasons we all know - a centralised  
> database contains all the data, so it's the one best place to look  
> if you want to be able to access any particular data, or all the data.

There has been a centralised on-line electoral register since at  
least the late eighties. I know this because I saw it being used from  
a police incident room to background check hotel residents prior to  
and during a Conservative party conference.

>
> Security nightmare.
>
>
>
>
> -- Peter Fairbrother
>
> (slightly drunk, hope this is clear)
>