Topic > Online Voting and the Digital Divide - 2842

Abstract: More and more Americans are using the Internet in search of convenience and opportunity. One service that offers both of these values, and more, is online voting. However, it's not as simple as point and click. Studies show inequality in the ability to access the Internet between socioeconomic classes and races. This digital divide is a major concern in developing an online voting system, and the authors of this new technology must be careful not to let these existing inequalities undermine democracy. This paper takes an in-depth look at these challenging issues and concludes with some suggestions for solving them. Today you can manage bank accounts, purchase goods and attend classes, all at the same time and from the comfort of your living room. ! The technology that supports these Internet services is being applied to improve services in virtually every sector of society. The government sector, in particular, now has online voting. This recent advancement has the ability to bring democracy into the homes of every American. But while allowing citizens to send ballots online from home has many benefits, we must also address its implications, especially in the field of equality. The ability to vote online has great potential. Key advantages include convenience and accuracy, qualities that may have prevented the nightmarish experience of the 2000 election. In that election, thousands of votes in Florida, and elsewhere, were counted incorrectly, or not at all . Obsessive reports about “hanging Chad” and disenfranchised voters cast doubt on who really won the presidency. The errors in the electoral system, which have always existed, were absurd... half of the document... com, February 23, 2001. http://www.time.com/time/digital/daily /0,2822,53066, 00.html23. Kantor, Jodi. "Obstacles to electronic voting". November 8, 1999. The Standard.com, February 23, 2001. http://www.thestandard.com/article/article_print/0%2C1153%2C7403%2C00.html24. Weisberg, Jacob. “Will Internet Voting Be Good News for American Democracy?” October 28, 1999. CNN News, February 23, 2001. http://www.cnn.ru/TECH/computing/9910/28/net.voting.pros.cons.idg/25. “The network reaches more than half of US adults.” 2001. Associated Press, February 23, 2001. http://www.msnbc.com/news/532656.asp26. Kantor, Jodi. “Internet voting is to democracy what Amazon.com is to books.” November 9, 1999. CNN.com, February 23, 2001. http://www.cnn.com/TECH/computing/9911/09/internet.voting.part.two.idg/27. "World Wide Web User Statistics." 1999. Accessed February 28, 2001. http://www.why-not.com/company/stats3.htm