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Arizona Democrats Will Vote Online

Internet ballots, secured by digital certificates, will be accepted in March primary.

By Jack McCarthy, IDG News   

To set up the voting system, the state Democratic party has partnered with Votation.com. The New York company has run several legally binding elections, including those for nonprofit organizations, credit unions, and pension funds.

"We are entering a new age, a new millennium, and a new way of voting," says Mark Fleisher, Arizona Democratic Party chair.

Online voting should engender more voter participation, particularly among young people disaffected with the political system, Fleisher adds.

Registered voters interested in casting their ballots online will need to apply in advance. Votation.com will send them digital certificates, or electronic credentials, to authenticate their votes, according to Joe Mohen, chief executive officer of Votation.com. The voting system will include dual-key encryption technology commonly in use in electronic commerce, he adds.

Arizona Democratic Party officials are heralding the initiative as a landmark in the evolution of voting practices. But others express doubts about security and wonder whether online voting will actually attract more voters.

Only the Early Steps

Online voting is not ready for official sanction, declares Bill Jones, California secretary of state.

"The technology is there to provide Internet voting places, but it's still a little early to allow voting from the home or the office computer that might not be protected from viruses or other software attacks that would violate security," says Alfie Charles, a spokesperson for Jones.

However, Votation.com officials say adequate safeguards are in place, including custom antivirus software.

Votation.com has also contracted with VeriSign to provide authentication and verification services for the voting.

Arizona Democratic Party's Fleisher says he expects a significant increase in voting participation with Internet voting. Others express doubts.

"(Online voting) would tilt the turnout in favor of people who have access to the Internet, which would be those with (advanced) education and income," says Professor Alan Zuckerman, an expert in voter behavior at the Department of Political Science at Brown University. "But most people at the high end of education and income spectrum vote anyway."

Some young, computer-savvy citizens may decide to vote online, but others will not, he added. "It's not going to bring poor people to vote," Zuckerman says.