GodWasAnAlien wrote:
Which is why voting receipts cannot be given in general. votes would be sold whether legal or not.
Would it truly be the end of democracy for individuals to be able to prove their vote?
If the voting public can't be trusted not to squander their ballot, perhaps the whole idea of democracy needs reconsideration.
An honest politician is one who, when he is bought, will stay bought.
Simon Cameron
US financier & politician (1799 - 1889)
I think verifiable backups are good too. My concept for a good electronic voting system would include a public database which shows every vote cast, indexed by anonymous voter code. Every voter would get a paper receipt for their vote, which would allow them to "look up" their individual vote at the official results site. However, I don't think this will happen because so many people are hung up on the idea of votes being "secret".
If results were public, and everybody got a receipt for their vote, then it would be that much easier for elections to be "bought". But hey, transparancy is a double-edged sword. If a new law needs to be passed which makes it illegal to outrightly buy (or sell) votes, let it be so. (-As if pork isn't the same thing.)
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GodWasAnAlien wrote: Which is why voting receipts cannot be given in general. votes would be sold whether legal or not. Would it truly be the end of democracy for individuals to be able to prove their vote? If the voting public can't be trusted not to squander their ballot, perhaps the whole idea of democracy needs reconsideration. An honest politician is one who, when he is bought, will stay bought. Simon Cameron US financier & politician (1799 - 1889)
I think verifiable backups are good too. My concept for a good electronic voting system would include a public database which shows every vote cast, indexed by anonymous voter code. Every voter would get a paper receipt for their vote, which would allow them to "look up" their individual vote at the official results site. However, I don't think this will happen because so many people are hung up on the idea of votes being "secret". If results were public, and everybody got a receipt for their vote, then it would be that much easier for elections to be "bought". But hey, transparancy is a double-edged sword. If a new law needs to be passed which makes it illegal to outrightly buy (or sell) votes, let it be so. (-As if pork isn't the same thing.)