Get out the vote
01.30.2004I just finished voting in my first online Michigan primary. I voted from a wireless connection in a Bolivian café. What an amazing experience. Wow. Thanks, Dad, for emailing me my login information.
Oh, and I voted for Joe Lieberman. Yes, I know he can't win. But it's not always about winning. It's about letting the rest of the candidates know what kind of person you're looking for (i.e. someone rational who doesn't like to scream into microphones) in hopes that they'll listen.
Posted by Miguel at 04:14 PM
Comments
Now, I am not sure what I should do here. I live in Maine, but I dont think I have done anything that would declare me an offical citizen of Maine, except have an apartment and pay bills and have a job here. What declares you a citizen of a state and thus eleidgable to vote there? I am still registered to vote in Michigan.
Posted by: Caleb Larsen at January 30, 2004 10:11 PM
You have to register to vote wherever you move to. If you haven't registered in Maine, you're still registered in Kalamazoo. Unless you never registered in Kalamazoo, in which case you're still registered in the UP.
Posted by: Miguel at January 31, 2004 02:39 PM
Miguel,
I have a couple of questions on online voting. First, how did it go? Second, did it seem secure? Did you get some kind of confirmation number or something to confirm your vote?
With all the changes since the 2000 election, I'm curious to hear how the online voting is going. Especially since in 2004, a lot of the military people overseas will be able to vote online in the general election, instead of mailing in their absentee ballots.
I definitely think online voting is going to be the way most people vote in the future, just based on the trends for everything else we do online--banking, shopping, email, blogging, etc. But I do worry that the online voting system will be vulnerable to vote-rigging and other hacks.
Posted by: Patrick at February 2, 2004 12:42 PM
The online voting went fine. It was quite secure, actually. There confidential login information sent to my parents' house, which my dad sent me via email. I had to go through 2-3 steps to confirm that I'm who I say I am through a secure (https) server.
Yes, I too think online voting's the wave of the future. Of course, it'll take some time for it to really have an impact (perhaps a decade?). And I'm not sure if voting online's any less secure than regular voting. Hate to say it, but the Dems have powefull — and often corrupt — machines in many cities (like Boston) that have historically manipulated voter turnouts. That's not to say that the GOP hasn't often done the same, but historically the brunt of the sins are on Dem shoulders. Still, I think secure voting online is possible, practicable, and probably inevitable.
Posted by: Miguel at February 2, 2004 03:31 PM