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Electronic Voting

In a democratic regime especially, this consideration is even more imperative as the structure of the voting system and the voting mechanisms reflect the choice of the people, preference for particular leader and the people's government. An error in the assignment of any component or in design within this system may have serious ramifications on the foundation of the democracy and the financial status of the economy. This view is consistent with those shared by Stephen Ansolabehere (2001). He opines that voting systems reflect the preferences of the people's chosen representatives. Failure in its administration would lead to election fraud, weakens popular control and government accountability. He also notes how the public tend to base their trust in the voting system for tallying with their expressed preferences.

Sensitivity to voting system is perhaps more dominant among the Americans due to the fact American voting history is strewn with vote fraud leading to consistent rate of innovations in voting devices, methodology and procedures to curb them. The aim of the government then and even now is to achieve transparency within the voting process and not to compromise the political solidarity of democracy. At the heart of this voting process is the ballot and how it is delivered to the officials concerned.

The decision to implement mechanisms and adoption of certain devices depend on effectiveness, efficiency, transparency, cost and ease of use, time consumption, privacy and most importantly fraud proof. History of voting systems indicates otherwise. Each method emerged with pitfalls and consequently the government and its people have to bear the brunt of legal, economical and social implications. The electronic voting system is no different.
Given this context the researcher hypothesizes that, like its predecessors, the electronic voting system is currently at a developmental stage and is not trustworthy for measuring vote count.

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