Digital voting, commonly referred to as electronic voting or e-voting, is a modern approach to the electoral process. The use of electronic systems to cast votes makes a lot of sense in today’s technologically advanced world. Nevertheless, these advantages pose particular problems. The conflict between the accessibility and purity of digital voting machines further presents the fundamental question of the future of democracy.
Therefore, in this blog post, I will discuss the main advantages and disadvantages of digital voting, such as flexibility and convenience achieved at the cost of security and credibility.
Table of Contents
The Pros of Digital Voting
1. Enhanced Accessibility
This is one of the main strengths of digital voting and that is to increase the options of who participates in the voting process. This includes:
Voters with Disabilities: Web-based technologies can be made accessible to one or many disabled persons; for the visually impaired, it may involve voice-controlled commands, and/or the physically challenged may need adapted interfaces.
Remote Voting: The main advantage associated with digital voting is the possibility to vote regardless of the place of current dwelling, which is particularly comfortable for those who live overseas or in other states apart from permanent home addresses, work in the military, or live in remote areas.
Convenience: The use of the computer, smartphone, or other devices means that people don’t have to go out and queue at the voting stations, like the elderly and professionals with tight schedules.
2. Increased Voter Turnout
The use of digital voting methods is likely to increase voter turnout because the processes involved are easier and can be completed in a shorter period. This paper proves that convenience is a very influential factor that affects voter turnout. Voting may also be informed by factors that are eliminated in online voting: staff, for instance, long queues waiting for a chance to cast their votes or little time given to prepare for the task.
3. Cost Efficiency
Paper-based voting systems are cumbersome and need scarce resources such as papers, staff, and stations for the polling stations. Electronic voting can help to cut such costs as it will help to avoid the necessity for providing and recruiting people for so many voting booths, as most of the process can be run by computer, and this will help governments to save money in the long run.
4. Speedy Results
Regarding the fact that digital voting makes it faster to announce the result of the voting compared to counting paper ballots, it can be seen as the biggest advantage of the technology. This efficiency can enhance the timeliness of the elections to increase the chances of offering results within high-stake elections.
The Cons of Digital Voting
1. Security Concerns
Due to doubts about cybersecurity, the stability of digital voting is in discussion all the time. Some of the key risks include:
Hacking and Cyber Attacks: Digital systems are easily susceptible to hacking, given the wrongdoer or an expert could manipulate the election results or display the voters’ secret information. That is why cyber aggressors can penetrate digital voting systems in order to destabilize the election or change the results.
Software Bugs and Glitches: Fat finger errors, which are hitches that arise when technology fails, are more risky in vote counting; they can result in a loss of trust in the voting process.
2. Voter Privacy
It is equally difficult to maintain the voters’ secrets when voting online. Thus, digital voting systems need to employ encryption and other means to quash identification of the particular vote cast, whereas, with paper ballots, the voter is physically separated from others to ensure vote anonymity. If such systems break down, then voter anonymity may not be ensured—that is, democracy can be jeopardized.
3. Digital Divide
Not everybody can own a smartphone, a tablet or even a laptop or have a steady connection to the internet. This could lead to a perceived disconnection or social exclusion of some groups of people, especially in the current generation’s perspective, as the digital divide might include rural dwellers, low-income earners, and the elderly, who may be less conversant with matters that require the use of ICTs. Therefore, the use of a digital voting system will disadvantageously disadvantage these population groups in a way that could make representation inefficient.
4. Lack of Trust
People should have confidence in the electoral activity, as it is one of the measures of democracy. Any form of technology, especially that which is not revert-ed by the public can breed a lot of suspicion about the poll. There appears to be the threat of tampering or bias in the system, which makes people develop doubts about the results of the election.
The conflict of accessibility and integrity interests
The debate rages on regarding digital voting because of the question of the possibility of making voting easier to access while maintaining the elections’ integrity. Here are a few considerations to strike this balance:
Implementing Robust Security Measures: Programmers can reduce hacking and cyberattacks through strict rituals such as high-level encryption, multi-factor authentication, and security checks.
Conducting Hybrid Elections: Alternative means of voting like the use of digital ballots and the choice to use plain paper ballots will help the candidates avoid the lockout of those with no technology. It may also function as a reserve in the occurrence of high technical complications.
Public Transparency and Testing: As a result, the digital voting systems must be designed in full transparency and go through numerous tests. Open-source software can afford people who do not belong to the project to look into the code and identify weaknesses.
Improving Digital Literacy: Voter literacy programs regarding the usage of different voting apps and tools will also reduce this space and give people confidence in voting online.
Conclusion
Democratic voting can be seen as disposing of a solution to modernizing the electoral process, which is seemingly more accessible, convenient, and efficient. Nevertheless, it is not without its problems, chief of these being security concerns, voters’ anonymity, and confidence in the process. Thus, when approaching the idea of the digital voting system, it is clear that no technological advancement can replace the initial principle of security while defining how to make the process democratic for all citizens without compromising on the ballot.
The future of digital voting may therefore be a function of the kind of partnership that Ministries of Interior, technology suppliers, and civil society can and will make to resolve these challenges. In this way, we do not cooperate to improve the voting process, which is protected by democratic principles in the context of the information age.
