Online Voting - Would You Vote For It?

I am calling for voting in elections to be placed online (see me actually calling for change here). I first wanted to change this because I have seen first hand what happens when there is too much of an opportunity cost to vote--people just won't vote (as shown in this post).

In talking with others about this idea, I have received quite the array of feedback. Someone commented about how a change like this would affect tradition. Many people commented on how we are using technology in many other areas, so why not use technology in this one? One person mentioned the possibility of eliminating voting and using statistics and random assignment of the population to get us a true representative government (as shown here), others disagreed with that idea. Those who disagreed felt that we didn't want a "fully representative" government. This brought up interesting ideas about what we want when we say we want a voice. Do we actually want one? Or do we just enjoy the idea of it without actually putting it into practice?

When Did Consumerism Overrule Democracy?

So much happened during the renaissance,
Any ideas how it can relate to Voting?

Voting

Renaissance-

??? Anyone have an idea?

Enlightenment-

The French and American revolutions were fought because the people wanted to have a say in what the government does to them.

Industrialization-

Marx thought that capitalism failed, and thus the government would need to take the power away from the people. Take power away from the people means taking away their vote.

1800’s-

Poll taxes were introduced to prevent poor people (mostly the recently freed slaves) from voting.

WWI-

Women were given the right to vote after showing how much they could help during the war.

Early Modern-

Calvin Coolidge said that an americans importance to his country is not as a citizen but as a consumer.

Modern-

Consumerism swells while the percentage of registered voters who vote abates.

Millennials of all lands, Vote!

There are many issues with our current system of voting, but one of the primary ones is that there is a restriction on who can vote. People who do not have the time to stand around in seemingly endless lines aren't allowed to vote. The idea that people should vote because they have the ability to vote is a priceless enlightenment ideal, but it needs to be updated to the modern age.

Down The Rabbit Hole

In the search for how to make voting easier so that we will get a government that more fully represents the people, I looked into many ideas, including the good, the bad, and the outright radical.

In the search, I stumbled upon a journalist working in Detroit. When describing his feelings about voting on the internet, he expressed worry about what it could lead to, “#DownTheRabbitHole” has he put it. Opening voting up to the internet could easily lead to politicians taking control of the voting process. This is a valid concern, but is it all that different from the idea that there are politicians today tinkering with the voting process?

In communicating with an analyst in Denver, I discovered a much more radical solution. Dissolve the legislative branch of the government, and draw a random sample of citizens each year to fill those seats. Statisticians would love the idea, for this “sample” would be the best estimation of the “population” that is possible. If your name is drawn out of a randomization process, you go work for the government in deciding legislation.

This would lead to a government that, statistically speaking at least, would be a better representation of the people—which is exactly what we would be trying to do with enabling voting online. Its feasibility, however, remains an issue. What will the future hold? I suppose it is up to us, but we need to vote to make it happen.

I Didn't Vote

November 4, 2008, I walked into my local Department of Motor Vehicles branch to do what a good American citizen does, vote. After making it through the door I saw a line that seemed to be longer than any I had before encountered. The wait to vote was well over an hour. So I did the unthinkable, I walked back out the door and went on to other activities.

But, is it all that unthinkable? Every election millions of voters never show up, never cast a ballot, and never vote. For me, it was a convenience issue. I didn’t have the time to wait in line for hours, and I think millions of Americans have similar issues. The system is simply too out dated to accommodate them.

The system made sense for hundreds of years. You show up, cast your ballot, and your vote is registered—they had no better way. But we do. We have a better way at our disposal. The internet is doing incredible things in areas such as business, communications, and even banking. Many people who do not vote today because they do not have the time would be able to vote because they can do it virtually anywhere, and with only a few clicks online. Thus, millions of those who didn’t have the time would now be able to vote.