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| Fuente: http://wpmu.org |
Most
discussions on electronic voting usually focus on direct recording electronic
devices (DREs) or the use of electronic technology in counting the ballots.
Under these circumstances, the voter must still cast his or her ballot in
person. However, there is another voting technology: remote or Internet voting.
In a more
pop culture context, Internet voting has really taken off in popularity.
Sometimes called I-voting, because most of these votes are usually cast over the
Internet, remote e-voting is used for television shows like American Idol and
it is also used for instant polls on popular newsmagazine shows and other
programming. Given this, why can't a similar kind of technology be used for
government elections and other important electoral events?
There are
some advantages to Internet voting:
1.
Convenience: Voters can simply log on to their computers or use their
smartphones to cast their votes. In an age where convenience is so heavily
valued, this is a huge "pro" for remote e-voting.
2.
Encourages voter turnout: Related to the first point, having a greater level of
access and convenience should theoretically encourage people to vote who may
have otherwise skipped the opportunity. By having better voter turnout, the
results of each election will be more representative of the overall popular
opinion. That said, a
study jointly released by
M. Bruter and S. Harrison with N. Anstead, S. Banaji, B. Cammaerts and LSE
Enterprise for the European Commission actually found an opposite effect on
turnout among first time voters. Clearly, further study is warranted.
3.
Streamlined Absentee Ballots: With military personnel serving overseas or
businesspeople traveling abroad, it can sometimes be difficult for these
citizens to cast their votes from afar. If the elections are held online,
however, these demographics can be better represented, as long as they have
Internet access.
4.
Eliminate Long Lineups: One of the problems plaguing many elections,
particularly those in the United States, is that there can be remarkably long
lineups at the official voting locations. There is a definite bottleneck with
paper ballots and manual ballot collection. If the votes can be cast online,
assuming the bandwidth is adequate; there can be virtually no lineups at all.
Although
these features sound very appealing, there are many issues that come up related
to Internet voting:
1. Security
concerns: Websites, regardless of their level of heightened security, get
hacked all the time. When the magnitude of a major national election is
considered, these threats should not be taken lightly and they could
potentially compromise
the results of any
election.
2.
Transmission problems: As with anything else conducted over the Internet, a
remote electronic vote may encounter some errors and issues as the data is
transmitted over the web. Since there is no real paper trail for each ballot,
this can be make recounts and error corrections virtually impossible.
3.
Bandwidth and server issues: When there are major sales at certain online
retailers, the servers may not always be able to handle the increased traffic.
The same problem can occur when the servers cannot handle the increased traffic
of a major election. Bandwidth needs must be considered and addressed.
4.
Authentication: When a voter arrives at a physical voting place, his or her
identity can be confirmed by the government official or representative. With
remote e-voting, the voter is not physically present in front of a government
representative and, thus, the identity can be more easily faked. That being
said, given the authentication processes for online banking and other
government websites, authentication is an issue that may be more easily
addressed.
5. Less
thoughtful voting: A recent ICEP
study on electoral ergonomy
found that voters tended to take less time thinking about their vote when
engaging in an electronic ballot (20 seconds) than when using a French ballot
(60 seconds). Furthermore, voters aged 18-25 in the 2010 British General
election were twice as likely to choose an extremist party if voting by post
(remotely) than at a polling station, even when controlling for prior voting
intentions. Remote e-voting could further amplify this effect.
