ZOE ROGERS / OPINION EDITOR

The views expressed in the editorial and op-ed sections are not necessarily those of  The USD Vista staff, the University of San Diego, or its student body.

Many voters are curious to see what shift awaits for the White House this election season. With the upcoming election scheduled for Nov. 5, 2024, voters will fill the booths ready to vote. For the majority of USD’s undergraduates, this will be their first time voting in the presidential election. However, as our nation modernizes and grows, we have begun to experience technological advancements, especially in the voting system. Until recently, voting was done in a manual format, by  hole punching or filling in a bubble. Now, electronic voting services have been introduced, making the entire voting process more efficient. 

Electronic voting services allow for a faster ballot count. Instead of relying on individuals to hand count the submitted votes, the electronic voting services can collect the ballots almost immediately. The voting machines can also increase voter ease and participation. Additionally, any previous cases of ballot tampering in paper ballots can be provided by incorporating electronic ballots. 

Electronic voting systems were  encouraged after prior issues with paper ballots. For example, difficulties with paper ballots arose during the 2000 presidential election between George W. Bush and Al Gore. Gore requested a manual recount of votes in four Florida counties, though the definition of what was to be a legitimate vote became problematic. There was a displacement of the number of people voting to the actual votes registered, and numerous votes failed registration. Many ballots hadn’t been registered because of the “hanging chad” occurrence when a punch pen makes contact with the ballot and it fails to punch a hole into the ballot, leaving only an indent. To form a conclusion on each ballot, employees resorted to examining whether the voter pressed through the card when there was only a dent. This led  to a struggle to understand and interpret the voters’ intentions. 

Paper ballots are tedious to count and often take significant time to complete. This task can lead to confusion and miscounts — due to human error — and cause the country to undergo intense anticipation while waiting for the result, creating chaos. Electronic voting systems eliminate issues like these.

The electronic voting services could potentially create other issues, such as confusing technology. This technology may pose a problem for individuals with trouble reading and using a computer screen. With the organizations relying solely on the machines, what would happen if the system had a malfunction and possibly crash? With technology failures prone to happen, technology can be less reliable than paper. However, the electronic voting system often has an audit trail, which allows voters to verify their vote on paper.

Visit the San Diego Registrar of Voters website to find a voting location near you.  Photo courtesy of San Diego Registrar of Voters/Twitter

There has been controversy about whether electronic voting systems companies commit voter fraud and potentially manipulate the voting system. In 2020, Dominion Voting System faced an accusation by Fox News, stating that they were allegedly stealing votes. This initiated a flood of political controversies, ethical concerns and distrust in the technical voting system. On Nov. 11, 2020, Sean Hannity, a Fox News commentator, referenced affidavits being filed about election misconduct. “And let’s not forget the software error,  we’re going to focus on this a lot wrongfully awarded Joe Biden thousands of ballots that were casted for President Trump, until the problem was amazingly fixed,” Hannity said. “And according to a report, that very same software its called Dominion Voting System that was used in 28 states.” 

After numerous public comments of the alleged misconduct of the Dominion Voting System, Dominion ultimately sued Fox News for defamation, they referenced Fox’s spread of controversies, including manipulating votes from Trump to Biden. 

Dominion proved in court that these claims were baseless, and no evidence surfaced that supported Fox’s claims. Ultimately, Fox did not have to publicly apologize to Dominion for these false allegations, instead Fox paid Dominion just under $800 million to settle the dispute. This lawsuit is an example of the distrust in electronic voting services implemented in our society. 

Our country continues to modernize each year, and incorporating electronic voting machines is a testament to that. While paper ballots are still standard, changes are continuously being made to improve the voting system and increase usability, reliability and efficiency. 

MIT Election Data and Science Lab provides insight on information of various voting technology, and its usage overtime in the U.S. “From 1988 to 2000, mechanical lever machines and hand-counted paper ballots began their gradual decline in favor of a growth in optical scanners and DREs,” MIT Election Data and Science Lab states. “In response to the Florida recount fiasco of 2000, Congress passed the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) in 2002, which banned the use of lever machines and punch cards in federal elections, and also required that all precincts have at least one voting machine accessible to voters with disabilities.” 

Electronic voting systems are now accessible and incorporated in most voting booths. The machines allow voters to maintain the democratic process upon which our country was built, just in a different format. Using electronic machines, we still accomplish our duty as citizens to the United States government and fulfill our role to participate in the presidential election. Now, every citizen of all capabilities can vote. Visit USD votes at https://www.sandiego.edu/vote/plan-to-vote.php more information. Be sure to head to the voting polls on Nov. 5. Personally delivered and mailed ballots are also due by this date.

Visit the USD Votes website or Instagram for more information on registration and voting logistics. Photo courtesy of  @usdcomm/Instagram