Closed, not without controversy, the Rousseau era, an association founded in 2016 by Gianroberto and Davide Casaleggio, the SkyVote “armored” door opens for the 5 Star Movement. We cannot speak of a real legacy, because the voting model of Multicast, the company that has SkyVote in its belly, is very different from the one that until yesterday governed democracy from the bottom of the 5S.
He tells us about it Giovanni Di Sotto, 49 years old, originally from Aquino, the town of San Tommaso in Ciociaria, since 2004 CEO of Multicast, a company of which he is a partner together with Roberto Spain, technical director. “The model on which we agreed with the 5S Movement is to unbundle the services that were previously carried out by the single Rousseau platform focusing exclusively on electronic voting”.
How are you different?
“First: Rousseau held and managed the personal data, that is the personal information of the M5S users registered on the platform. Second: the same platform managed the participatory component, that is the discussion on the issues, the summons of the subscribers, the newsletters, etc. Third: the vote it was inside the platform with the possibility of being preserved “.
And you?
“The points are the same, but managed by three different subjects and, as far as we are concerned, in different ways. The data of the members of the movement were in fact transferred from Russeau to Odoo, a platform with which we have no relationship. we still know who will manage the participation of the militants, which is point two. We, on the other hand, will deal exclusively with point three: that is, the electronic vote that will take place through one of our products: SkyVote Cloud “.
When Multicast was born, how many employees do you have and how much do you invoice?
“Multicast was founded in 2004, with our own funds, and since 2014 it also offers proprietary electronic voting services. We have about twenty employees and consultants with an internal development department made up of IT engineers and programmers. The turnover is on average one million euros, we are profitable and we reinvest about 80 percent of what we earn in products and developments. “
How were you selected? Who are your contacts in the M5S?
“One day there was a phone call to the switchboard, it was Vito Crimi, the M5S regent, who was looking for a technical contact. I think they found us on the internet for the many electronic voting services we provided. From here a selection process started. , together with other platforms. We provided documents and held meetings with Crimi and some of their technical consultants. The path lasted a few weeks, in the end they chose us “.
When did they notify you?
“About three weeks ago.”
Do you know Davide Casaleggio?
“No, only of fame, but we have never met or heard, nor have we ever had any relationship with Rousseau.”
Do you have any idea what convinced the 5S to choose Multicast?
“Obviously it is a question that only they can answer, but I got the idea that the fact that we are out of all the laps, we are independent, we are third, completely third, also weighed heavily.”
What is your economic relationship with the 5S?
“I can’t talk about that, but the 5S pay the market price, exactly what all our customers pay according to the rates that are transparent because we participate in public tenders.”
Let’s go into detail, how does your electronic voting system work?
“When requested, we will send via email to those entitled to vote the electoral certificate associated with the user. In this certificate, together with the data that make the identification of the person unique, such as the tax code, we combine a code that allows to the person entitled to vote, as if he had gone to the polling station. At the time of the vote, the user will receive an OTP on his mobile phone, like the one used in bank transfers, with which he confirms that the vote has been sent “.
How will you ensure the transparency and secrecy of the vote?
“We generate as many cryptographic keys for as many as are entitled, unambiguously and unambiguously, in the presence of a notary. The result of the vote will be readable in an aggregate manner only by the latter, but no one, not even him, will be able to know who has voted for what. We do not know, the 5S cannot know, because the encryption process takes place locally. Everything travels in a secure way, with maximum security, no one can trace who voted for what. Also, once the ballots are passed of vote to the notary, the system resets everything. There will be no trace “.
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M5S chose SkyVote over Rousseau. The developer: Your data is safe
An impossible system to break?
“Nothing is impossible, but very difficult yes. For cryptography we use Thales-Gemalto as a partner, which is used for three quarters of European satellites and for passport chips, they are among the largest in the world.”
I saw that among your customers there is also the Democratic Party: will the yellow-red alliance go through Multicast?
“Let’s not joke, no alliance, they are just customers like many others. For the Democratic Party we managed the primaries in Ancona and the local congresses in San Benedetto del Tronto. They were their experiments, but in the past we have been contacted by other parties, I think even by Brothers of Italy, even if it did not materialize “.
And Rai …
“Rai has now voted for the internal board member, elected by the employees. Riccardo Laganà has passed with our voting system, but among the clients we also have the associations of notaries, veterinarians, engineers and architects of Inarcassa, the Confcommercio. I think I can say that our platform is among the most used in Italy at an institutional level “.
Has Covid changed your outlook?
“The pandemic has given us a great acceleration, as it has been for many other digital sectors. Everyone has realized that electronic voting is a possible reality and in many ways advantageous”.
Kind?
“On average, electronic voting has a 30/40 percent higher turnout than analog. Out of 10 professional orders, 9.5 percent reached a quorum of 50 percent plus one in the first round. he had never succeeded in these orders and the oldest dates back to 1934. I believe that after this experience there is no turning back “.
Will we go towards widespread electronic voting?
“There is a great desire to participate: I tell you three anecdotes, which explain well what has happened and what will happen. During the pandemic, the order of a province, I can’t tell you which one, she rented a shed in the Marche and yes drive-in voting was invented. Voters showed up in their cars, at the entrance they were identified, in the middle of the shed they withdrew the ballot, in the end they placed it in the urn, all without ever getting out of the car. The second case concerns an association of veterans who voted with our system. Almost 90 percent of those eligible spoke up, and most were over 70 years old. Another association we witnessed had 100 percent of the voters. votes of those entitled, 240 out of 240 people, scattered all over the world. For us it is a source of great satisfaction “.
Goodbye analog vote?
“Electronic voting will never entirely replace the analogical one that is guaranteed by article 48 of the Constitution, for which voting is free, equal for everyone, even for those who are illiterate. But today it is essential to work side by side with the digital system . Electronic voting is an instrument of democracy, it is the instrument of the 21st century. And let’s face it, the 5S with Rousseau had the merit of making it more known, it made it clear that it can be done “.
Does the sector need to be regulated?
“Yes, let’s hope we start talking about normalization of the sector. Many systems could be used, but voting for a singer in a competition is not the same as a serious election. We need a regulatory framework and we hope it will arrive soon.”
Now you will have the eyes of the Privacy Guarantor …
“Our company has all the security certificates even at European level with the GDPR standard. Guaranteeing data protection for us is our daily bread and if we have never had to deal with the Guarantor, I think it is because we have worked well “.
When will I land on the stock exchange?
“We always hope to get there when quoting, but first we have to internationalize services. This job was my passion, I’m already happy to do what I like”.
Did you meet with former premier Giuseppe Conte?
“Yes, he connected to some meetings, but our main interlocutors were the regent Vito Crimi and some of their consultants. That’s all.”
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