In spite of the popular objections we have all heard of, automated elections are gaining popularity worldwide, being adopted by more and more countries (and other organizations) each year. There are many reasons to believe electronic voting is a better choice for managing electoral processes than manual methods, but these are the main points:
–E-voting is Fast and Accurate: Counting ballots by hand is a long, exhausting task that is inevitably subject to human error, but automated voting systems reduce counting time to mere seconds while removing the risk of miscalculations and confusions in voters’ intent.
–Electronic voting is Paper-free: Huge reductions in paper expenses and consumptions are made thanks to the fact that paper ballots become unnecessary. This, in turn, solves the problem of physically running out of ballots in a polling place.
–E-voting is Accessible: Adaptive technology for people with some kind of disability has been developed for electronic voting machines, granting inclusion and giving them the ability to cast a secret and independent vote.
–E-voting is Safe: The source code used in automated voting software undergoes rigorous tests, audits and revisions by independent certification entities, before and after the electoral event, and a fully auditable voting system makes any kind of tampering impossible to go undetected by the election authorities.