In fourteen pages evoting is discussed in a consideration of its many problems and threats it would pose to democracy in terms of security, discrimination, and access. Seven sources are cited in the bibliography.
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Americans between the ages of 18 to 29 would prefer voting with the use of the Internet. Sure, it seems like the easy way to vote. One can just sign
on, press a few buttons and viola! One has voted without leaving their homes and there would be the technical capability to see election results right away. Of course, that
would compromise the system. Still, the twenty-something generation is an age group that is very comfortable with computers and computer networks (2001a). At the same time, the Caltech/M.I.T. team, along
with other computer scientists, claim that their research raises concerns that the systems are still far from being user-friendly, and that they could produce an entirely different and equally thorny
election crisis as what has happened in the past (2001a). Many remember what occurred in Florida. People painstakingly counted paper ballots. It was an election nightmare that had to
be resolved by the Supreme Court. One can imagine that the Internet would be fraught with controversy, hacking events and just plain "disenfranchisement." If the voters in Florida could not
figure out how to use a punch card, is it likely that they will use the computer properly? What if they meant to push one button but their finger made
its way to another, or perhaps the computer will crash in the middle of a vote five minutes before polls close? There are so many problems with Internet voting that
it is not reasonable to assume that it will work like voting for a Star Search candidate. What is more important is that Internet voting raises serious concerns about democracy.
II. Can E-Voting Ever be a Reality? Elections of the future could in fact be convenient, accurate, and faster for the voters themselves as well as the