Hindsight is 2020; Let’s Talk Counting Votes
Even before election day, this year’s Presidential election had the highest in-person early voting and by-mail turnout in US history — nearly 100 million people had cast their ballots by November 2nd, which was roughly 75% of the total voter turnout in 2016. Of course this election was special for a couple of reasons, including an increase in voter polarization as well as the logistical and health necessities to allow safe enfranchisement due to coronavirus. While it is commendable and a testament to the resilience of Americans that such records are being met in a time of difficulty — current legal, political, and logical battles point to many flaws and inconsistencies in the way voting is done in the United States. Let’s look into some of the ways vote counting systems have improved in the United States since 2000.
Because the U.S. Constitution presents minimal guidance in the voting process, the way in which elections are conducted is often decided at the discretion of the states. The first fifty years of American elections were conducted publicly via a voice vote. Primitive paper ballots, on which people would simply write the name of their preferred candidate, were introduced in the 19th century. It wasn’t until 1888 that some U.S. states adopted standardized paper ballots with the printed names of all candidates. The beginning of the 20th century brought with it the use of lever operated voting machines which proved to be very expensive and often unreliable. From the 1980s onward, punch cards began to gradually replace lever operated systems — that is until 2000.
Twenty years ago, Florida’s punch card voting system resulted in hanging chads, the need for magnifying glasses, and headaches across the country. In response, the Help America Vote Act of 2002 banned punch card and lever-based voting systems, which resulted in a growing use of optical scanning technology at the polls. Today, the vast majority of states utilize some combination of electronic, paper, and optical scanning voting systems. While the current voting systems are not without flaws, it’s safe to say that voting technologies have improved since the days of voice voting.
So, is there a better way to count votes? Traditional methods of physical voting are by no means perfect, but online voting systems are not thought to be able to guarantee the security, secrecy, and confirmation of millions of votes across the country — at least in the United States. Fourteen other countries incorporate some form of internet voting in their elections; Estonia was the first to make “i-voting” a permanent voting method. Estonia’s internet voting system has encountered no security issues largely because of the digital identity cards that each citizen has, which are used to authenticate each vote. Blockchain voting, which was used in Thailand’s 2018 elections, suffers from many of the same security issues that other forms of online voting does.
In the U.S., several promising tech start-ups are aiming to change the way we vote. Voatz, a Boston-based company, leverages enhanced cybersecurity features and Blockchain to enable users to vote from their smartphones. Each vote that is cast on the app correlates with a printed paper ballot. To register, voters must upload either their driver’s license or some form of photo identification. Votem, a Cleveland-based company, is another smartphone vote-casting app which rose to prominence after over 1.8 million votes were cast through it for the 2018 inductee of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Smartmatic-Cybernetica is an online voting app which was used for the 2016 Utah GOP Presidential Caucus. Results from the caucus showed a high voter participation and no issues of miscounting or inaccuracy. As more and more people demand better channels for convenient and secure voting, Blockchain startups such as these may play a major role in creating the voting systems of the future.
Eliot Small, Fall Investment Intern
As of the sending of this newsletter no winner of the 2020 Presidential election has yet been called, but it appears Michigan and Pennsylvania will be crucial in determining the next President of the United States.
US Elections Project provides a range of fascinating statistics on early voting in the 2020 general election.
The 1860s paved the way for remote voting in the U.S. during the Civil War; typical voting processes were replicated on battlefields of 14 states. Six additional states allowed soldiers to mail in their ballots back home.
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