Should Voting Be Electronic Essay Research

Should Voting Be Electronic . Essay, Research Paper

M. Todd Solomon

We are in the middle of a revolution and although there are no guns, bullets, or bloodshed, this revolution is still taking place. It is a technological revolution and every person on this planet is participating whether they know it or not.

Technology is changing incredibly fast. So fast, in fact, that we are scrambling to keep up with it. Companies develop new products daily to help ease our lives and to make our every wish and desire appear instantaneously. As a society, we love it. We crave it. We can t get enough of it.

Of course, the advent of the Internet has played a huge role in our hunger for technology. Over half the homes in the United States are now connected to the World Wide Web, a number which grows exponentially by the day. As a society we have begun to use the Internet for many of the activities that are so common in our lives. Activities such as, shopping, banking, paying bills, making travel arrangements, communicating, etc. And companies are more than willing to accommodate our willingness to do so. There are hundreds, possibly thousands of websites devoted solely to helping us with these tasks.

So why are we, as a society, being stubborn when it comes to making some processes electronic or digital. What I am referring to is the ongoing debate about digitizing the voting process.

In this paper I will argue that we need to establish a system which will make the voting process electronic. To clarify, when I say voting process, I am speaking of this country s system of gathering and tabulating votes. I will explore the current methods of the voting process as well as making a comparison between the current process and several electronic systems which are currently being developed. I will also look at some of the arguments from those who are opposed to making this process electronic. Finally, I will discuss the overall advantages of changing the voting process and how they will effect us as a society.

What has spurred this new and heated debate in political circles over the efficiency and accuracy of the voting process. Could it possibly have been the recent presidential elections. During the 2000 elections, our country, like it or not, was treated to a crash course in the voting process. As the polls drew to a close, it seemed as though George W. Bush would win Florida and the presidency. The final vote count in Florida was decided by only several hundred votes. Due to this incredibly close margin of victory the Democrats asked for a recount in Florida. What happened next put the magnifying glass directly on Florida as well as our country s current voting process. It was this that served as the catalyst for this current debate.

Currently, there are mainly four different types of machines or procedures for casting and counting votes being used today in the majority of the country. These systems include Mechanical Lever, Punch Card, Optical Scan, and Hand Counted. (www.usatoday.com)

Mechanical lever Machines have been in use in the United States since 1892. (www.research.att.com) A voter will pull a lever in correspondence to the candidate they wish to vote for. By the 1960 s these machines were used by about half the voters in the US. (www.research.att.com) In the last election 18.2 % of the population who voted used this method. (www.usatoday.com)

One of the main disadvantages of the lever machine is that there is no ability to audit them and to recount individual votes. If the counter malfunctions no record exists form which a proper tally can be determined. (www.research.att.com) Other problems have arisen involving these machines such as, mislabeled levers, and faulty testing processes. This machine is so out dated in fact, that they are no longer being made at all. This makes trying to assemble parts for malfunctioning machines impossible.

Punch Card voting system was brought about to replace the lever machines. It is by far the most widely used system in the US. About 32.4 % of the population used this system in the last election. (www.usatoday.com) These Machines use cards with holes printed where they can be punched. The names of the candidates are not printed on the cards themselves, but on a separate device which holds the card next to the names when it is inserted. Each hole lines up next to the name of a candidate. (www.research.att.com)

Punch Card systems are not without problems either. Besides simply understanding the ballot, which we have seen can be rather confusing, the system which counts the punched holes can be very inconsistent. Votomatic, as this system is called, suffers from the occurrence of hanging, swinging, pregnant, or dimpled Chad s. (www.research.att.com) These are all names given to a hole which has not been punched completely through. Rather the holes are only removed halfway, three quarters, ext. The machine which counts these votes may count them incorrectly or not at all.

A popular alternative to the punch card system are Optical Scan systems. This technologies is used by 27.2 % of the voters. ( www.usatoday.com) This system works similarly to those used in standardized tests. The voter fills in ovals next to the name of the candidate they wish to vote for. Then a machine counts the dots and tabulates the votes. (www.research.att.com)

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