Happy Tax day, everyone. If you are one of millions who now E-File (Electronically file) your tax returns, I ask you to pause for a moment and think about what you have just done.
You transmitted all of your financial, personal, and tax information over the internet, safely and securely. I ask you a simple question? Did you give a second thought to it? I doubt it. Nor should you have.
In one of my first posts almost a year ago, “Imagine a world…”, I tried to point out how rapidly our world has changed from just a decade ago. We all remember how many important tasks in our lives we now do online, that only recently we took for granted must be done on paper.
Let’s face it, folks. E-Filing is another very strong example of the fact that security and privacy concerns over digital activities can be overcome to allow us to do amazing things online, without thinking twice about it.
Online voting is no different in this respect.
Remember, when you hear the vocal detractors (the self-declared experts) tell you that voting is different than banking, or Tax filing, or commerce, or even Air Traffic Control, that they are wrong when it comes to security, auditability, recountability, or privacy. Online voting is not “different”.
Voting IS very different from all these things in one very important respect. Voting is our most important RIGHT, from which all our other rights come. We should never allow ourselves to be denied the most contemporary technology to express that right.
If we “cyber the tax”, surely we can Cyber The Vote.
