Coming Soon to an Election Near You!
Is Cyber-Voting a Good Thing?

by Ronald Kahn

The craze over the Internet as the communications network for the 21st century has been accompanied by a movement to make the Internet the primary venue for voting in elections. A recent poll by Dell Computer Corp. found that of those who accessed the Internet at least once a week, 78 percent would like to vote online.

In fact, Internet voting is already here. Election.com presently runs over 600 elections each year, mainly corporate elections for boards of directors and share-holder proposals. In March 2000, however, Election.com got into the politics business by running Arizona's online Democratic presidential primary. Of the 40,000 people who voted in that primary, 36,000 voted electronically from their homes and 4,000 voted elec-tronically in public voting booths.

Proponents argue for the ease of Internet voting. Voting can be done from one's home at any time, making it easier for everyone to vote, regardless of their life situation. Some contend that this would increase voter turnout. The current 54 percent turnout for U.S. Presidential elections -- and even lower rates for elections to lesser positions -- certainly doesn't engender pride in our democracy. Moreover, Internet voting would eliminate the problem of voting results in the East affecting turn-out and voting in the West.

This all sounds great, but there are some questions our nation needs to address before it shuts down local precinct voting booths.

Election fraud is the first problem to come to mind. In 1997, California Governor Pete Wilson vetoed a digital voting bill because he feared that voter confidentiality in state elections would be compromised due to possible fraud. Concerns about technical and security issues prompted voters in Boulder, Colorado, to soundly defeat a recent proposal for phone voting in local elections. On the national level, it's possible to conceive of a situation in which a foreign nation might wish to influence the outcome of a state election involving an incumbent politician -- such as the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee -- who would be in a position to act against that nation's interests.

While the use of PIN numbers may alleviate security fears, states may have to confront new issues of political influence. Instead of "get out the vote" campaigns, political parties could have "get in the vote" parties in private homes or public venues. Just bring your PIN number. Such events would be a whole new way to influence voters. States would also have to police voting sites to ensure that there is no "campaigning" near the Internet voting site, nor improper links to other information that might bias voters.

Another significant problem is whether Internet voting will further increase the disparity in voting levels among the rich, middle class, and poor. Since wealthy people are more likely to have a home computer and Internet connection, would online voting favor candidates who oppose the interests of the poor and lower-middle class?

The effects of national Internet voting on political parties would be most interesting. It would be a boon to third parties, which now have trouble getting on the ballot in many states. However it could be the death knell to national party conventions. Why not just have national voting for presidential nominees?

Would Internet voting be a first step to online national referenda on public issues, as many nations already have? Will such referenda lead to more and better deliberation on public policy or to increased demagoguery? What effect would Internet referenda have on the quality of deliberation in Congress, the issues that are raised, the power of interest groups, and the quality of governmental decisions, especially given the day-to-day variability in public opinion? Would politicians feel obliged to vote according to the outcomes of referenda?

Would Internet voting and the availability of information online make direct engagement with fellow citizens and candidates even less likely than it is today? We could just go to our computers, read, and vote.

No one knows the answers to these questions. However, the move to Internet voting will directly affect the interaction between citizens and their government. Internet voting has the capacity to radically alter the role of citizen and elected official in our nation.

Ronald Kahn, the James Monroe Professor of Politics and Law, co-teaches two courses in the Oberlin-Cole Initiative in Electoral Politics.

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With 18 Oberlinians serving in the ranks of the Peace Corps, Oberlin College places 6th nationally on the list of smaller colleges and universities with students and alumni currently serving as volunteers. Director of the Peace Corps Mark L. Schneider informed President Nancy S. Dye of Oberlin's standing in a letter at the beginning of the year. The ranking, he said, "is an outstand-ing contribution to the Peace Corps' legacy of service around the world and reflects the high caliber of the students who attend your institution." Schneider acknowledged the long-standing and strong relationship between Oberlin College and the Corps, and said Oberlin's alumni "are using the skills and education they acquired during their college years to make a difference in the lives of many people."