1
INTRODUCTION
Most recently the rapid rise of the Internet and the world wide web has begun to impact the
conduct of political campaigns and elections. One of the obvious political uses of the Internet and
the world wide web is for the conduct of not only state and local elections, but national ones as well.
Given widespread penetration of the Internet throughout American society, and the relative ease
with which balloting could be conducted on the Internet, there has been a great deal of discussion of
electronic balloting across the nation.
Elections are one of the most critical functions of democracy. Not only do they provide
for the orderly transfer of power, but they also cement citizens’ trust and confidence in
government when they operate as expected. Although election systems are normally the
province of election officials, the events that transpired in Florida during the 2000 presidential
election focused national attention on how elections are administered throughout the nation.
The subject of voting systems has taken center stage, and is under intense scrutiny by
policymakers, interest groups, and the American people in general.
Over the last five years there has been strong interest in voting over the Internet as a
way to make voting more convenient and, it is hoped, to increase participation in elections.
Internet voting is seen as a logical extension of Internet applications in commerce and
government. Election systems, however, must meet standards with regard to legality, security,
representation, the “digital divide,” and many other criteria, making Internet voting much
more challenging than most electronic commerce or electronic government applications.
Political scientists, election officials, lawmakers, as well as computer scientists must come
Convention