Why Can't I Vote Online?

Online voting is not like online banking…
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This year, more people will likely vote than ever before in history. It’s being called the “The Ultimate Election Year”, when countries with half the world’s population can vote for their leaders. This big test of democracy requires millions of polling stations and billions of ballots.

But voting’s not always easy! People might deal with long lines or need to travel far distances. In the US, we vote on a Tuesday, so people often need to take time off work…

I’m really excited to vote! And I’ve also been wondering… wouldn’t it be easier if I could just… hit a button on my phone?

Why can’t I vote online? And what would happen if I could?

Over the past two months, I called up a bunch of voting and security experts to try to answer that question. And the answer I found is more controversial, complicated, and high stakes than I could have ever imagined…

Chapters:
0:00 Why can’t I vote online?
1:12 Don’t people already vote online?
2:00 How does voting work now?
2:58 Why do people want online voting?
3:50 What would GOOD online voting actually take?
4:16 How do you ID people?
5:12 How do you prevent coercion?
5:53 But wait… I bank online!
7:31 How do you stop hackers?
8:35 What’s the Benaloh Challenge?
10:36 What’s the biggest challenge with online voting?
11:20 It’s not just technical problems. It’s political, too.
12:13 The most important part

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Bio:
Cleo Abram is an Emmy-nominated independent video journalist. On her show, Huge If True, Cleo explores complex technology topics with rigor and optimism, helping her audience understand the world around them and see positive futures they can help build. Before going independent, Cleo was a video producer for Vox. She wrote and directed the Coding and Diamonds episodes of Vox’s Netflix show, Explained. She produced videos for Vox’s popular YouTube channel, was the host and senior producer of Vox’s first ever daily show, Answered, and was co-host and producer of Vox’s YouTube Originals show, Glad You Asked.

Additional reading and watching:
Election Administration and Voting Survey 2020 Comprehensive Report: https://www.eac.gov/sites/default/fil...
The Future of Voting: End to End Verifiable Internet Voting, Specification and Feasibility Study: https://usvotefoundation-drupal.s3.am...
Why Electronic Voting Is A Bad Idea, Tom Scott:    • Why Electronic Voting is a BAD Idea -...  
Why Electronic Voting Is Still A Bad Idea, Tom Scott:    • Why Electronic Voting Is Still A Bad ...  
The Electoral College, explained, Vox:    • The Electoral College, explained  
How the US counts votes, Vox:    • How the US counts votes  
Why Democracy is mathematically impossible (maybe), Veritasium:    • Why Democracy Is Mathematically Impos...  
Gerrymandering, explained: CGP Grey:    • Gerrymandering Explained  
The Logistics of the US Election, Wendover Productions:    • The Logistics of the US Election  
Giant Leap for the Space Crowd: Voting, NYT: https://www.nytimes.com/1997/08/26/us...

Vox: https://www.vox.com/authors/cleo-abram
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm10108242/

Gear I use:
Camera: Sony A7SIII
Lens: Sony 16–35 mm F2.8 GM
Audio: Rode NT USB

Music: Musicbed, Tom Fox

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Welcome to the joke down low:

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With a ring!

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