Revolutionising the voting process through online strategies
| Published date | 01 October 2005 |
| Pages | 513-530 |
| Date | 01 October 2005 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/14684520510628909 |
| Author | Alan D. Smith,John S. Clark |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Library & information science |
Revolutionising the voting
process through online strategies
Alan D. Smith and John S. Clark
Robert Morris University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
Abstract
Purpose – To provide practitioners of information management with an overview and framework to
explore the various controversies associated with the methods of traditional methods of voting with
electronically enhanced voting via the internet (I-voting). The current paper is centered on the
assumption that I-voting is the next logical step in applying online information-gathering and retrieval
technologies to the field of e-government.
Design/methodology/approach – A review of the applied literature on electronically enhanced
voting methods with potentials associated with internet voting, as well as from practical experience,
resulted in a basic model for discussion of the emergent nature of I-voting.
Findings – I-voting would reduce the cost for staffing polling stations, and also the funds needed to
pay for voting machines. I-voting could also reduce the number of errors made by both the voters and
the electoral administrators, and allow for easier adoption of uniform standards in the ballot format,
since it could be transmitted via the internet from a central election agency to all local and regional
polling places. Bridging the digital divide and internet security issues may be the most important
barriers that must be overcome if I-voting becomes a viable option in the USA.
Research limitations/implications – It may be years, if ever, before a truly secure, relatively
risk-free internet service, such as I-voting, is developed. However, despite the controversies associated
with election fraud, the numerous current voting systems that are in place suffer from the same
problems associated with online informational exchanges; but, for the most part, nations still conduct
their businesses and the political systems are still relatively stable.
Practical implications – Owing to recent voting de
´ba
ˆcles in the USA, the public is demanding a
more reliable and secure method of voting. Currently, many nations are moving more toward
electronically enhanced voting methods with the long-term goal being internet voting. Unfortunately,
there are heated debates about the pros and cons of handing over the right to vote, using a system that
is prone to security risks from outside sources.
Originality/value – In the short term, there should be increased interest in establishing national and
international standards for testing and certification of electronic and I-voting systems and their
IT-infrastructure. It is a basic premise of the present study that voting online increases voter
participation, which can only be viewed in a positive light.
Keywords Elections, Electoral systems, Data security,Internet, United States of America
Paper type General review
Introduction
The presidential election of 2000 will be remembered as one of the biggest voting
fiascos in the history of the USA. Television networks announced early on election
night that presidential hopeful Al Gore had won in the state of Florida, only to retract
the statements later because it was too close to call. Then Florida officially claimed
Bush had won, which caused a major uproar across the country. In fact, in south ern
Florida, thousands of ballots were tossed out because many voters could not decipher
the “butterfly ballot”. Even with the latest election for Bush’s second term, the results
The Emerald Research Register for this journal is available at The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
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Revolutionising
the voting
process
513
Refereed article received
11 February 2005
Accepted for publication
13 June 2005
Online Information Review
Vol. 29 No. 5, 2005
pp. 513-530
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited
1468-4527
DOI 10.1108/14684520510628909
have been challenged by some as constituting election fraud. Clearly, the USA’s current
voting system was not working as well as it should. Even before the election disaster of
2000, a major study commissioned by CIO Magazine (CIO, 1999) revealed that the
majority of consumers (56 percent) would definitely vote online in the next presidential
election (2000) if they could, with 25 percent saying that they definitely would not, and
14 percent replying as maybe. The study showed the major reasons for definitely not
voting online were confidentiality/privacy concerns (32 percent), being old-fashioned
(29 percent), and the possibility of fraud and tampering (26 percent). As for the
majority of IT executives (78 percent), they stated that if they could they would cast
their ballot for the next presidential election over the internet, with only 12 percent
opposed to online voting. Those IT professionals opposed to online or electronic voting
(e-voting) generally cite the same reasons as other consumers: being old-fashio ned (38
percent), fear of fraud and tampering (33 percent), and confidentiality (25 percent).
Most people preferred, however, an alternative to the problem-plagued system of
traditional voting methods. There is probably no greater use for, or potential for
problems associated with online information exchange than that of the practical
application of online voting schema.
With over five different methods used in the USA to cast votes, the system is open
to problems such as a lack of uniformity, the miscalculation of votes, ballot stuffing,
machine failure and blatant fraud, and there is a major push in the USA to overhaul the
existing voting system. At the top of the list for accomplishing this is the
implementation of electronic voting (e-voting) along with internet voting (I-voting).
With the advent of these technologies, can the emergence of new voting methods
prevent future voting mishaps? Will e-voting technology allow I-voting to become the
standardised method of voting for most major elections in the USA, from local, county
and state elections to the well-publicised presidential election? A discussion of these
questions highlights some of the numerous opportunities, barriers, and security
concerns of internet-enabled voting. Figure 1 summarises some of the major forces and
trends associated with these technologies in the voting process and serves as the
framework for further discussion of these topics in the paper.
The difference between e-voting and I-voting should not be confused. Essentially,
e-voting deals with the electronic and automated technologies that try to minimise the
human element in the vote collection and tabulation process. I-voting is the use of
online information gathering and retrieval technologies to expand the reach and range
of the potential voting population. I-voting cannot exist without the fully functional
e-voting and related IT infrastructure to support the online initiative. This paper
attempts to deal with the online aspects of the voting process clearly and explicitly,
including the barriers to and problems associated with I-voting. The discussion is
centred on the assumption that I-voting is the next logical step in applying online
information gathering and retrieval technologies to the field of e-government. It is not
the intended purpose of the authors to describe and defend the best method of I-voting
technology; rather the purpose of this research is to develop an awareness of the
importance of strategic thinking and planning for the various online information and
retrieval systems that must be in place for I-voting to reach its full potentia l.
OIR
29,5
514
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