To access extended pro and con arguments, sources, and discussion questions about whether electronic voting machines are the best voting method, go to ProCon.org.
The earliest forms of voting were fairly simple but public, so everyone knew your preferred candidate. In ancient Greece, a small ball or token was deposited in a ballot box for a particular candidate. The use of balls was carried forward into voting in secret societies, where a white ball was selected to vote someone into the organization and a black ball to keep the individual out (which is the origin of the phrase “to blackball” someone). The earliest voting machines also used small balls, including a machine proposed by the Chartists in 1839. In another method, voters might choose a colorful “ticket” from the party they wished to vote for and drop it in a clear jar. In each instance, voting was a public act.
Similar methods of voting continue in some areas of the world. In Gambia, for example, citizens vote by dropping marbles in vividly colored drums marked with the photo and logo of the party of their choice; a chime is heard when the marble is dropped, indicating that a vote has been cast. These audible and visual cues allow illiterate constituents to vote with ease and confidence.
PRO
- Current electronic voting machines with voter-verified paper audit trails are secure voting methods.
- History proves the reliability of electronic voting machines.
- Using the Internet for elections is an incredible risk the country does not need to take.
CON
- Current voting machines are outdated, and their software is vulnerable to domestic and foreign attacks.
- Current voting machines are mechanically obsolete and extraordinarily expensive to repair or replace.
- Voting machines should be replaced with Internet voting.
This article was published on December 15, 2022, at Britannica’s ProCon.org, a nonpartisan issue-information source.