Ever since the world became entangled by the technological explosion of the Internet two decades ago, human society has changed forever. Communication between both long and short distances has become instantaneous, and suddenly the other side of the Earth is not too far away to keep in touch with every day. People can congregate faster and in greater numbers than ever, and ideas reach more people faster than ever.
It’s almost inevitable that most business and public affairs make the transition to the digital realm, and online voting seems the next natural step in society’s digitization. Out-of-state voters often struggle with complicated absentee ballots, and polling stations often prove as unreliable as any PC. As attractive as that option may seem, online voting faces a long list of technological problems before it could ever be viable.
In 2007, the small nation of Estonia expanded its online voting system to include more than 30,000 individuals voting in its parliamentary elections. The Baltic nation has taken the lead in being the first to allow such high-stakes votes to be cast over the Internet, according to a March 3, 2007 Wired article.
With urban Wi-Fi, a growing use of ‘e-government’ information portals and a growing consumer preference for online banking over physical banking, Estonia is beginning to look more like the United States in terms of technological development. The question is: Can online voting work here?
The United States is, by far, a larger and more varied nation than Estonia. In many places, the availability of the Web is the rule, and no longer the exception. The idea of online elections would seem a logical transition for the world’s most connected nation, but the very idea of Internet-based voting in the United States would attract more attention than existing technologies could protect against.
Online voting would not and cannot currently work here, however, because the results of U.S. elections hold much greater ramifications for the rest of the world than those in Estonia. If the United States decided to open up voting over the Internet, there would be no system secure enough to protect it from the onslaught of domestic and international hackers. Perhaps the technology will be in place to defend such a tantalizing target in the foreseeable future, but there is no such thing as a foolproof computer system.
Americans can afford to lose money and even personal data to malicious hackers and computer glitches because the system is built to accommodate these losses. When online fraud steals from a consumer’s bank account, the customer is insured. Services even offer to protect people’s identity for a fee. But Americans can never afford to lose their vote.
Online voting still deserves serious consideration. Internet-based elections would spread democracy to greater number of eligible voters. Those with busy schedules, sicknesses or unforeseen commitments could more quickly and conveniently vote not just at designated locations, but anywhere that features an Internet connection. Absentee voting would no longer be an issue for voters. U.S. servicemen and women overseas would have a quick and legitimate method of voting. Democracy would be more accessible.
In order for any of those perks to be enjoyed, however, a robust security plan would need to be devised to protect against vulnerabilities. In Estonia, online voters were allowed to vote a few days before the official election day so that if anything went wrong, the e-votes could be nullified and everyone could vote the old-fashioned way on election day. It would take a monumental technological effort to guard against such high-profile elections as the U.S. general elections. Even if one legitimate vote is miscounted or tainted because of outside forces, online voting is an infeasible option for the United States.
But the technology to make those online voting a realistic possibility is not here, and probably won’t be for a long time. In the meantime, the process of voting should certainly be made simpler across the nation. Simpler, more concise ballots are a good way for individuals to make an accurate vote. Streamlining the process for absentee voting would encourage more out-of-state residents to vote. Even moving the general election to a weekend would help more people find the time to vote.
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