Casting Your Vote Online
From hanging chads and Florida voter recounts to a lack of paper backups in Pennsylvania, the controversies surrounding the US presidential election seem to keep on coming. As the burgeoning world of technology continues to redefine what we all once thought was possible, the question of being able to vote from your own household becomes more and more a possibility for the future.
But just because we have the ability to reinvent an established process doesn’t always justify doing so. As a leader in the security industry and as a proponent of all things democracy, we think it’s best to leave it up to the people to decide. So, we’ve put together a list of both PROS and CONS about the future of online voting.
Take a look below and cast your vote to see what others think!
Pros
Convenient Voting Process
Online voting makes the voting process convenient and relatively easy, as voters would be able to access their secure login from mobile, tablet and desktop.
As of now, according to the Pew Research Center, only 53.6% of the US population voted in the last presidential election. Allowing voters to cast their ballot by way of mobile device or desktop could encourage them to do so, potentially increasing voter turnout dramatically.
Eliminate The Chance Of A Recount
Online voting removes the need for any state to hold a recount. Backing up the received votes to a secure server would also ensure election result accuracy.
Removes All Question & Doubt
All online votes would be indisputable. Online voting removes any doubt of a voter’s action a la “the hanging chad debate”.
Paperless Benefits
Going paperless benefits both the government budget and the environment. It also eliminates needing to use outdated, unreliable voting machines.
%
Voted in the 2012 Presidential Election*
%
Of Breached Records in 2016 Were Government Related**
Cons
Vulnerable To A Data Breach
The main threat against online voting has to be the potential of a massive hack or disruption affecting the secure voting websites that the election operates around.
Massive cyber attacks of late seem to be targeting the largest, most advanced organizations, which would provide little confidence in the security systems developed by each state.
Potential For Voter Fraud
Voter fraud: there would be no simple way of identifying a specific voter’s identity without multiple levels of authentication (e.g., text message / email link / social security number confirmation / password / numerous security questions / etc.)
Traffic Hindering Site Performance
The large amount of traffic visiting the state’s voter website at one time could significantly hinder and slow down web servers (or crash the site altogether).
If over half the US population cast their vote online (53.6% voter turnout in 2012), you can only imagine that this could create a long, drawn-out process for both voters and each site’s technical team if the secure sites slowed to a halt.
Decentralized Site Complications
Each state would need to develop their own secure voter website in order to avoid a centralized nationwide login process. A centralized, national login would be much more susceptible and vulnerable to attack than 50 autonomous, state-sanctioned secure websites.
Each state creating a secure voter website could easily turn into a problematic, convoluted endeavor.
Go ahead and cast your vote!
Written by Peter J. Schaub
President & CEO, NeoCertified
