Arguments For and Against Online Voting

Photo from Nebula Consulting

As a person of the internet generation, the idea of online voting seems highly appealing—on the surface.  It would make voting a much simpler process in general: people would no longer have to rely on polling offices which can get overcrowded or shut down, those who need to apply for absentee ballots would not have to worry about applying for a special ballot, and anyone with access to the internet would be able to cast their vote!  Those without immediate home access to the internet would be able to vote from their public library, and other such locations offering free internet services. Photo

So why haven’t we made internet voting the standard?

Corruption exists in physical polls and mailing polls, and unfortunately, our internet is not secure enough to support something as fragile as voting.  Emily Dreyfuss for Wired.com explains that “elections are prime targets for hackers and meddlers,” (Wired) which makes online voting, with our current internet technology, a potential disaster.


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Written by Hannah Mason

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