March 11, 2021
A major complaint by some critics of electoral systems is that the systems are slow to adapt to meet the changing needs of voters and election officials. There is a tension between folks that see an opportunity to apply modern technologies to solve specific election concerns and others that don’t want elections to change at all. The reality is more complex. The mechanisms underlaying the electoral process have changed dramatically in some areas while remaining nostalgia-inducing in other areas. By understanding how elections have evolved over the centuries, we can better understand what drives change in the field and what innovations are on the horizon.
Paper ballots can be considered the first application of “new” technology in the voting process. It is also likely the longest-lasting technology in the voting process. The paper ballot was first used in the United States in nearly 400 years ago. It marked a significant shift from the use of clay or metallic tokens or balls because selections for multiple contests could be made on a single slip of paper. Through the 18th and 19th centuries the paper ballot further evolved from being handwritten by voters to being highly-produced tickets printed by political parties themselves. These stylized tickets were easy to count but lacked the secrecy and accountability that has come to define modern democracies. It wasn’t until 1888 that the Australian ballot – standardized and printed at government expense – was first used in the United States to address widespread fraud. New election technology was just around the corner, as mechanical voting machines that utilized levers followed just one year later.
By 1930, lever machines were used in almost every major US city. The lever machines allowed officials speed up the tally process while reducing fraud. Punch cards and optical scan ballots followed shortly after as development of computerized tally systems became feasible in the 1960s. Direct Recording Electronic (DRE) machines and precinct-based tally systems that debuted in the 1970s dramatically reduced the amount of time it took for a ballot to be processed. Today, the fastest optical scan tabulators can process up to 300 ballots per minute, and some states have piloted Internet-based voting using personal mobile devices.
What could possibly drive so much innovation over a relatively short period of time? The Citizen Voting Age Population (CVAP) grew substantially as a result of America’s booming population and the expansion of voting rights to include ethnic minorities and women. With Americans were spread coast-to-coast, journalists began to leverage new communication technologies to reach them in greater numbers and across greater distances. Telegraph, radio, television, websites, and social media have been relentless drivers in the demand to get election results published evermore quickly. Election officials have been forced to weigh the risks and benefits of introducing technologies to address accessibility, accountability, efficiency, and speed for a growing number of voters. The result is a complex interconnection of a variety of technologies that may be decades-old or cutting-edge.
Here are several examples of innovation in the elections sector. VotingWorks is a non-partisan non-profit that uses a combination of commercial-of-the-shelf (COTS) hardware and open-source software to lower the cost barrier for jurisdictions to run verifiable elections. Microsoft is supporting the development of open-source verification software to provide the means for a voter, advocate, or other stakeholder to counter potential disinformation by publicly confirming that votes were counted correctly. This year’s EAC Annual Clearinghouse Awards show that the public sector can be innovative as well. The Illinois State Board of Election created a Cyber Navigator Program as a cost-effective means of dynamically assigning cybersecurity resources throughout the state. Los Angeles County developed an Interactive Sample Ballot for voters to expedite the ballot-marking process at Flex Vote Centers.
Investment and regulatory changes will continue to drive innovation as jurisdictions seek to replace aging machines. Congress is moving closer to passing legislation that would expand options for voter registration and ballot delivery. The new VVSG 2.0 raises the bar for the usability, accessibility, and security of voting systems. Response to COVID-19 brought about significant electoral policy changes. Some of those changes have the potential for becoming permanent. The resiliency of America’s electoral system throughout centuries of voting is the adaptability of its processes, equipment, administrators, and voters. No two elections are ever the same.
Maurice Turner
Election Security Analyst, USC Election Cybersecurity Initiative
Maurice Turner is a recognized technologist and cybersecurity expert who regularly provides analysis for television, print, and social media on issues relating to election security and election administration. He has held numerous positions in the public, private, and non-profit sectors, including the United States Election Assistance Commission (EAC), the Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT), and the United States Senate.