We can do just about anything online.
From shopping and dating to paying bills and gambling, almost anything can be done from the comfort of our couch.
Why not voting?
A CNN study found that a mere 57 percent of eligible citizens voted in the 2012 presidential election. Just 19 percent of the total turn out was under the age of 29.
How would those numbers have looked if voters were able to participate with the ease of sending a text?
Many would say drastically.
In a time when news is summed up in 140 character tweets, few will take the time to pick up a news paper, none the less drive to a polling location to stand in line and fill out a ballot. To make matters worse, we live in one of the reddest states in the nation.
Oklahomans view their vote to be about as valuable as a drop of water in the ocean; and they’re not wrong.
Unfortunately, when millions of voters deem their vote irrelevant, it becomes relevant.
Young people don’t care about politics.
To most under the age of 35 it is a dull waste of time and if they barely have the patients to wait for their next Netflix episode to load, they’re certainly not going to take the time to vote.
Because of this, elections are being determined by the votes of our parents and grand parents.
Switching to electronic voting is not only logical, but also necessary for an accurate representation of public opinion in future elections.
To begin this switch, we can look to our Estonian friends who have been using electronic methods for the past decade.
Since switching to online voting, the Estonian turnout has increased from a low 2 percent in 2005 to 30 percent in their most recent election.
That’s huge.
Those in opposition of making the switch fear that privacy will be compromised without the security of a polling booth.
Will people be subject to bribery?
Possibly, but if we can find a way to overcome that hiccup online voting will be replacing polling booths for good.
Adrenaline & Estrogen 