Electronic Voting Systems

In 2001, Wand and colleagues published a paper titled “The Butterfly Did It” (see Wand, et al. 2001, cited under Voting System Neutrality) in which they argue that Palm Beach County’s butterfly ballot caused enough errors to decide the 2000 election for George W. Bush. The butterfly ballot also helped launch significant new research initiatives into voting systems and prompted new federal legislation through the Help America Vote Act of 2002, which served to modernize American voting systems. Along with Internet voting, these developments account for most contemporary research on electronic voting systems. Research on electronic voting systems is now at a crossroads. Much of the research following the 2000 election evaluated technology including lever and punch-card machines that are now largely obsolete (Stewart 2011, cited under History and Development of Voting Systems). Current and future research is moving in the direction of issues of security, Internet voting, ballot design, usability, efficiency, and cost of electronic voting systems. All voting systems in the United States today are electronic to a degree. Ansolabehere and Persily 2010 (cited under Empirical and Legal Evaluation of Voting Systems) identifies three discrete parts to voting systems: voter authentication, vote preparation, and vote management. Electronic voting technology can facilitate any of these steps. The term “electronic voting” is polysemous. Electronic voting (or e-voting) variously describes direct-recording electronic voting, electronic vote tabulation, or Internet voting among others. This document defines electronic voting as any voting system that uses electronic technology at any step in the voting process. Fully electronic voting systems use DREs (direct-recording electronic machines), in which ballots are electronically generated, prepared, and counted. Hybrid types of electronic voting are optically scanned ballots (precinct or centrally counted) or ballot mark devices (BMDs), which the voter completes manually and submits but is electronically counted. Electronic voting systems can also include Internet voting in which voters receive, prepare, and submit ballots online. The 2000 presidential election precipitated the most sweeping changes to voting systems, and we continue to see officials adopt new voting systems and Internet voting pilot programs, such as those in Estonia, Canada, Brazil, and Switzerland. Voting systems, particularly Internet voting, are a source of controversy in the United States and abroad. Debates over security and ease of use involve complex technologies and core democratic principles about the rights and responsibilities of citizens. Elections are also, at least in a narrow sense and especially in the United States, zero-sum. Only one person can hold an office, and any change in voting systems that helps one candidate or party necessarily harms the electoral prospects of others. At best, this leads officials to closely scrutinize new voting systems. At worst, it can lead to irreconcilable and unprincipled polarization over questions of voting technology. E-voting involves issues of technology, democratic participation, and electoral politics. This creates a rich environment for research on voting systems.

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