Technical.ly<http://Technical.ly> Philly - Tuesday, May 14, 2019 at 7:22 AM
You do everything else on your phone. Why not vote?
[https://technical.ly/philly/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/05/Text-to-give-Philadelphia-homelessness-donations-Nia.jpg]
Like many cities across the country, Philadelphia suffers from abysmal voter
turnout in most elections.
In May 2018, less than 17% of registered
voters<https://www.philly.com/philly/news/politics/what-we-can-learn-from-low-pa-primary-election-turnout-and-why-it-matters-that-just-1-in-6-philly-voters-showed-up-20180521.html>
made it to the polls in Philadelphia. In the 2013 general election, it was
even worse, with only 11.4% of population in the city actually casting a
ballot<https://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/heardinthehall/Tuesdays-voter-turnout-put-at-114-percent.html>.
As a city we need to think about voter turnout and the impacts that it has on
our democracy and the leaders we are putting in power.
How does poor voter turnout impact our democracy?
First, a lack of participation tends to favor incumbents, who can win election
after election without attracting a viable challenger or being held accountable
to voters. Second, where few people participate, the voters that do turn out
tend to have more strongly held views (either right or left) than the average
voter, which can lead to more extreme policy positions by officeholders, and
more radical policy outcomes for citizens.
Finally, and most importantly, a lack of participation undermines government
legitimacy. When only a tiny percentage of the populace decide who makes the
laws, the remaining majority are unlikely to be satisfied, and such an outcome
usually breeds more disengagement, not less.
Generally speaking, people don’t vote because voting is costly, not easy for
citizens to participate in, and we know they are not
secure<https://www.cnn.com/2016/12/26/us/2016-presidential-campaign-hacking-fast-facts/index.html>.
In Philadelphia, that is quite literally true, because first responders and
other folks with long commutes within the
city<https://www.philly.com/philly/news/politics/elections/pennsylvania-voting-laws-firefighters-emts-paramedics-absentee-ballots-vote-20181105.html>
have to choose between going to work and casting a ballot. How do you make the
case for community members to opt in to vote in a snooze of an election over
earning a day’s wage (or even an hour’s wage)?
Advertisement
Apart from the money voting takes out of some people’s pocket, the opportunity
costs of voting are exceedingly high. Because Pennsylvania also lacks early
voting, Philadelphians must balancing any number of things they have to get
done on Election Day against going to the polls (exercise, finding childcare,
etc.). And that’s before factoring in weather, wait times, hacking and access
to the polling place. Essentially, we are asking our community to not
participate in our democratic right to vote.
Voting needs to be cheaper and more accessible to everyone through a more
secure solution. The only way to boost turnout dramatically, other than putting
the same politicians on the ballot for the next 50 years, is to dramatically
reduce the barriers for citizens to participate in an election.
That’s why Philadelphians should be talking about mobile voting.
Mobile voting is a solution that is not only secured through blockchain
technology, but has been successfully implemented in West Virginia’s general
election<https://www.technologyreview.com/s/611850/why-security-experts-hate-that-blockchain-voting-will-be-used-in-the-midterm-elections/>
in November 2018, and being used in Denver’s upcoming municipal
election<https://www.coindesk.com/city-of-denver-to-pilot-blockchain-voting-app-in-coming-elections>
in May 2019 for deployed military overseas. We know that the majority of
citizens<https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/05/07/digital-divide-persists-even-as-lower-income-americans-make-gains-in-tech-adoption/>
have a mobile phone that they use on a daily basis to move money, buy goods
and share our lives so to imagine a world where we can’t vote on our phone
seems impractical.
Security will continue to play a key role in discussion when it comes to
voting, and we know that our current system is flawed and prone to hacking. As
a community, a city and nation we must look to new innovative technologies that
are consistently improving our very lives and making our basic rights more
accessible. Mobile voting will continue to be tested and audited by third party
nonpartisan cybersecurity experts, and can continue to evolve — unlike the
system we have in place today.
-30-
https://technical.ly/philly/2019/05/14/mobile-voting-blockchain-opinion-elections-kahlil-williams-bradley-tusk/
David Goldfield
Assistive Technology Specialist
Feel free to visit my Web site
WWW.DavidGoldfield.info<http://WWW.DavidGoldfield.info>
