In any election, the ultimate goal is to get as many voters out as possible. In the pursuit of that goal, our best ally is online voting. It eliminates the difficulty of getting to a polling place, ensuring that the ability to vote is accessible to all. When viewed in this way, it can truly be said that electronic voting is democracy’s friend.
When voting researchers look at reasons why people don’t vote, one of the main factors is the difficulty of getting to the polling place. Many people will allow a small difficulty, such as bad weather or heavy traffic, to deter them from going to vote because they think their candidate is a shoo-in anyway, and their vote isn’t really necessary. On the day after the election, many of these people will wake up to a rude surprise.
Other people have some genuine problem getting to the polling place. These include people whose mobility is limited by some physical disability and those who do not have access to transportation.
However, in modern society, devices to access the Internet are quickly becoming more universal than the automobile. There are many who do not have a car or access to public transportation, but do have a PC or some other device allowing net access. An online voting program can reach many who have no way of physically reaching the voting place, making the democratic process more inclusive.
There is a feeling of deep rightness about this. The people who will be reached by online voting systems will mostly be the old, the disabled and others who are often left out of the voting process. Online voting brings us closer to what democracy should be.
To learn more about online voting and other voting-related services, go to SurveyandBallotSystems.com.