Rebooting democracy: The tech that could transform turnout in the elections of the future
There is no idea that carries as much weight, as much positive connotation and hope, as the idea of democracy. There’s an argument to be made that it was the most prominent idea of the entire 20th century – nations crumbling at the demand for it, nations rising with the hope of its promise. At the center of democracy is that fundamental exercise, the collection of the will of the people, the casting of a single vote in the search for consensus.
Alain Sylvain
Elections are the bedrock of democracy; everything else is built up from this exercise. It is as close to a sacrament as there is in the secular world. Participation in an election is the demand of one’s prerogative and the simultaneous submission to the greater will.
In its most pure, ideal form, democracy would demand that all governmental decisions be put up to vote. This is, of course, impossible. But in the United States, for example, the bar for participation is very low – 55 per cent in 2012 compared to France’s 71 per cent. Systemically, many current voting systems increase the barriers to voting for underserved populations. For example, the working poor are marginalized through things like location of polling centers, hours of availability coinciding with working hours, districting and issues of identification.
The whole idea of democracy is that it’s one great big experiment in the wisdom of crowds. That means that all groups need to be represented: the rich and the poor, the green and the purple. The future of elections is about increasing the opportunity and the ease with which all voices can be heard.
Today, while there may be computers involved in some elections, voting is a very analog process. It is binary. It is behind the times. Technology’s most fundamental virtues are to provide ease and efficiency, and there are no two concepts our election system needs more than ease and efficiency.
The underserved and disenfranchised ought to have more power in the democracy of the future, and technology, at its best, will enable that participation. With the advent of some major technological advances, there is an opportunity to bring the state of democracy closer to its purest form.
Access: Biometric technologies
With a dramatic increase in biometric technologies, there is an opportunity to reduce the demand of physical location on voting. People are busy, and polling stations are not always convenient.
Compounded biometric signals (ie requiring voice and fingerprint) with traditional alphanumeric passwords is proving to be an extremely secure system – financial institutions have already begun adopting this. This will allow people to vote from anywhere at any time.
Time: The end of punctuated participation
One major issue with historical elections is that they only take stock of the citizenry’s voice at rare and designated times. Participation is punctuated and static, but our opinions on important issues are far more dynamic.
Technology enables the ability to track real-time approval in any number of ways. Imagine a dashboard where every person is allowed to adjust their approval of all of their elected officials, relevant initiatives and proposed bills in real-time – it’s voting in-between elections. Making sure voices are heard in real-time on all aspects of a democracy, beyond the designated moments of elections.
Engagement: Informed to act
One common excuse given for reduced participation in elections is that citizens are uninformed and often indifferent. However, shows like Dancing with the Stars or Eurovision Song Contest seem to be immune to this information conundrum.
In 2014 more people (14.5 million) voted for Lay's chip contest than voted in the California elections (7.5 million). The reason may be in the process. Every vote immediately follows an engaging performance – the relevant information to vote, delivered in a compelling way. Can you imagine enjoying the process of consuming the information necessary for voting, or having it delivered so easily?
While very few would argue the fact that better technology is needed in almost all aspects of government – not the least of which are elections – there seems to be a governmental inability to bring technology into the fold. But with something as important as the future of democracy, with the future of keeping the free world free at stake, maybe we can put our heads together and figure this one out. You know, for freedom.
Alain Sylvain is the founder of Sylvain Labs