The real issue with on-line voting is NOT whether its technologically feasible to ensure that I am who I say I am when I vote.
Set that aside, assume that you can do that however you want, with digital certificates or some sort of biometric signature.
The issue is whether you can ensure, when I vote away from a public polling place, that no-one is privately coercing me or tracking my vote (boss, spouse, union leader, rich candidate buying my vote etc.)
And this is the major stumbling block identified by the Carter-Ford commission which commented on just this matter after the problems in Florida. And they cited the work of many earlier studies through centuries of thinking on this issue.
So separate the ability to vote electronically from the ability to vote away from a polling place. When you think about it, you will see that no matter what technology you use, you still have need for a public polling place to ensure that the vote is truly cast freely and in secret.
Slashdot Mirror
The real issue with on-line voting is NOT whether its technologically feasible to ensure that I am who I say I am when I vote. Set that aside, assume that you can do that however you want, with digital certificates or some sort of biometric signature. The issue is whether you can ensure, when I vote away from a public polling place, that no-one is privately coercing me or tracking my vote (boss, spouse, union leader, rich candidate buying my vote etc.) And this is the major stumbling block identified by the Carter-Ford commission which commented on just this matter after the problems in Florida. And they cited the work of many earlier studies through centuries of thinking on this issue. So separate the ability to vote electronically from the ability to vote away from a polling place. When you think about it, you will see that no matter what technology you use, you still have need for a public polling place to ensure that the vote is truly cast freely and in secret.