With GE15 upon us, many information websites have been sharing suggestions for first-time voters on learn how to mark the poll, fold it, and deposit it into the field.
However isn’t it time we retire the ink-and-paper system and go for one thing a little bit extra superior?
In keeping with The Straits Occasions, the Malaysian authorities did look into the feasibility of e-voting in 2020. Nevertheless, the Election Fee (EC) was nonetheless unhappy with the confidentiality and safety points involving e-voting.
So, though on-line and e-voting techniques aren’t on the desk for GE15, right here’s why they may nonetheless be an choice sooner or later, particularly as a result of paper ballots aren’t fully foolproof both.
Like a well-oiled machine
Some of the apparent benefits of utilizing digital voting machines is comfort. We’ll not must print tens of millions of poll papers, as digital voting machines will enable customers to enter their votes instantly into the machines.
Moreover, it stops voters from casting wasted or invalid votes, which can waste the time of the polling agent. As such, the vote counting is faster and extra correct as effectively.
However understandably, lots of people have doubts concerning the legitimacy and safety of an digital voting machine. The machine may have been tampered with by its producer, handler, customers, and extra. The dangers of utilizing such voting machines would possibly even make residents really feel much less inclined to vote.
Nevertheless, digital voting machines aren’t the one machines that may be applied at polling stations.
For example, voting expertise firm Smartmatic has labored with numerous international locations comparable to Brazil, Belgium, the USA, and extra, to modernise their voting system.
Smartmatic even labored with our neighbouring nation, Singapore, since its 2020 basic election, utilizing its expertise to permit for digital registrations of voters at polling stations.
This made voting extra handy as election officers didn’t should manually strike out every voters’ particulars from a hardcopy register of electors when a voter has voted.
In GE14, there have been stories of lengthy queues, leading to voters having to attend within the scorching solar. The EC was even instructed to increase voting intervals due to it.
These machines might assist to quell these lengthy queues. However older voters who’re much less literate with expertise would possibly discover this to be an issue.
Moreover, commenters on Smartmatic’s Fb web page present that the corporate isn’t secure from allegations that it’s colluding with politicians.
What about on-line voting?
On-line voting continues to be moderately unprecedented on the planet, and there are good causes for it. The identical issues with digital voting machines apply right here, besides on-line voting is perhaps even much less safe. Assume hackers and web outages, amongst different issues.
However the advantage of on-line voting is obvious—accessibility and elevated voter participation. But, the issues undoubtedly nonetheless outweigh the advantages.
As such, some researchers are turning to a expertise that’s newer but: blockchain.
Blockchain as an answer in opposition to voter fraud
The expertise behind NFTs and cryptocurrency, blockchains are shared, immutable ledgers that facilitate the method of recording transactions in a community.
This expertise is thought for its safety, with the important thing phrase being “immutable”, which suggests fastened. With blockchain tech, every part is recorded, which suggests hacks are much less of a priority.
Researchers from the College Kebangsaan Malaysia together with Dr Uzma Jafar, Mohd Juzaiddin Ab Aziz, and Zarina Shukur wrote a paper on utilizing blockchain expertise in digital voting techniques.
Pinpointing that “a single vulnerability” in digital voting “can result in large-scale manipulations of votes”, they recommended blockchain expertise as an choice, calling it “a fantastic alternative for conventional digital voting options with distributed, non-repudiation, and safety safety traits”.
The paper additionally argues that blockchain techniques might repair shortcomings of conventional elections.
“In conventional voting techniques, we have now a government to forged a vote. If somebody needs to switch or change the report, they will do it rapidly; nobody is aware of learn how to confirm that report. One doesn’t have the central authority; the info are saved in a number of nodes. It’s not doable to hack all nodes and alter the info. Thus, on this approach, one can’t destroy the votes and effectively confirm the votes by tally with different nodes.”
However all this depends on the provision and accessibility of such expertise. A whole lot of sources could also be wanted to correctly guarantee privateness and safety of voters.
Plus, the novelty and unfamiliarity of such expertise makes it rather less approachable, particularly on an enormous scale. As soon as once more, this could backfire and lead to much less voter confidence and a smaller turnout.
Paper is king?
Have you ever ever heard of the saying, “If it ain’t broke, don’t repair it”? Though such a mentality can generally hinder progress, it’d apply on this case.
On the finish of the day, paper ballots have been the go-to methodology of voting for governments throughout the globe, and there’s a very good cause why.
Different international locations which have applied extra superior tech like the USA had handled controversies and speculations over their voting machines. Even when these controversies have been confirmed incorrect, they nonetheless work to undermine voters’ confidence in such gear.
Paper, however, is tangible and acquainted, and extra importantly, it really works. No less than, for now.
In fact, expertise would assist make voting extra handy and accessible, however for now, perhaps the approach we vote isn’t as vital as whether or not we even vote within the first place.
- Learn different articles we’ve written about Malaysia right here.
Featured Picture Credit score: Wiki Commons / Smartmatic
