INTERNET VOTING: EARLY EFFORTS
February 7, 2004

Thousands of Michigan Democrats broke new ground in Saturday's caucuses. With the tap of a keystroke, they cast their votes in the most sweeping use of Internet voting in American history.

 

Online Special Reports: Media Watch Vote 2004: Media Analysis & Ad Watch Voting Technology The Debate Over Electronic Voting Jan. 12, 2004: Update: More Americans Log on for Campaign News, Study Finds Browse the NewsHour's coverage of the media   News for Students and Teacher Resources: Media Studies     Michigan Democratic Party AFSCME of Michigan SEIU Detroit Free Press	The idea of using Web as a virtual ballot box is not without its critics who fear that security issues, voter fraud and the disenfranchisement of poorer voters compromise the idea. But the concept of Internet voting in the United States emerged four years ago with the last presidential election cycle and it was not Michigan leading the process then, but Alaska and Arizona pioneering the way.
	Alaska
	The Republican Party used Internet voting to mobilize voters living in the remotest regions of Alaska to participate in the 2000 Republican straw poll. Alaskan Republican Party Chairman Randy Ruedrich described the Internet voting trial as a very limited project. The virtual straw poll -- a non-binding presidential preference vote -- took place Jan. 24 in three regional districts. VoteHere Inc., one of the leading e-voting software companies, conducted the Internet voting on behalf of the party. Expectations of voter participation fell short. Out of 3,500 registered Republican voters, less than 100 voted via the Internet, Ruedrich said. "The problem we encountered was that rural Alaska connectivity to the Internet was much less than the state average. Also, the non-availability of a DSL type line for security made the process extremely slow," Ruedrich explained. Ruedrich qualifies the pilot project as "not a grand success, but a great experiment."
	Arizona
	The Arizona Democratic Party, seeking to boost participation in its party caucuses, conducted the first-ever binding Internet vote in 2000. Former chairman of the Arizona Democratic Party Mark Fleisher said he was inspired about the concept of online voting after reading a New York Times article. But his Internet voting proposal encountered opposition within the party over concerns it would exclude minorities. In response, Fleisher said, he met with Hispanic and Navajo leaders early in the process and asked what measures could be taken to help resolve disenfranchisement concerns. Though the actual primary date fell on March 11, voters who elected to use the Internet had to vote within a four-day window before the caucuses. Internet voting was not allowed on Election Day, Fleisher said, as a security precaution to prevent people from accessing the system and disrupting vote counts. Election.com, a voting services firm acquired last year by the consulting company Accenture, conducted the Internet side of the caucus. In order to cast their ballots online, voters received a unique identification number and password sent from the state party. As a precaution, if a voter incorrectly answered a security verification question, the voter would not be able to vote online. The results of the election, Fleisher said, demonstrated the potential of Internet voting. "The total primary vote in 2000 was 86,907. And of that total, 35,748 of the votes were by remote Internet, meaning done at home, library or work," he said. "Then compare voter turnout in Arizona's last competitive election of 1992 at 36,072." But issues of depressed minority participation in the online effort persisted, Fleisher admitted, noting a difference in Internet usage in minority and affluent areas. "In districts with heavy minority and poor areas we had an increase in percentage of mail votes whereas in the wealthy areas we saw more of an increase in computer Internet voting," Fleisher said. Fleisher also noted some other minor problems. For instance, blind or visually impaired voters could not utilize Internet voting in the Arizona experience, something that has been addressed with verbal prompting software in the Michigan Internet voting system, Michigan Democratic Party Executive Chairman Mark Brewer said. Despite such setbacks, Fleisher called the Internet vote in the Arizona caucus "a success."
	Michigan
	Drawing on the Arizona experience, the Michigan Democratic Party implemented Internet voting as a means to improve accessibility and voter turnout for its presidential caucuses in 2004. In order to participate in the online voting project, Michigan voters had to send in an application to vote by mail or Internet by a Jan. 30 deadline. Brewer said 123,000 people applied for an application to vote, but because the application form didn't require specification of voting method, the total does not distinguish between those who voted by mail or the Internet. As of Feb. 4, Brewer estimated, roughly 25,000 people had voted already, half of which had voted over the Internet. Election Services Corp., a privately owned election software company, managed the Internet voting system. After a person voted, ESC encrypted the data, holding the information in a secure location until votes are tabulated. Jason Moon, communications head of the Michigan Democratic Party, said Internet voting is just another option that Michigan Democrats can take advantage of in addition to voting by mail and at the polling station. "We've seen voter apathy around the country and in Michigan, so we've created another aspect of voting -- we've brought the polling station to voters," Moon said. The party allowed people to vote up until the actual caucuses closed at 4 p.m. EST on the day of the vote. -- By Parisa Jade Baharian, Online NewsHour

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