Malfunction or Misfit: Comparing Requirements, Inputs, and Public Confidence Outcomes of E-Voting in the U.S. and Europe

Abstract

While European democracies are increasingly adopting e-voting technology – including remote voting via public networks – the e-voting experience in the U.S. has been one of disenchantment. The adoption of e-voting technology and outcomes in public confidence in elections processes and results are at significant variance between the U.S. and Europe. We argue that the causes of this variance are rooted in divergent inputs of political traditions that only loosely define systems requirements. In the case of the U.S., several factors, most notably balkanization of the elections processes, have led to the current situation where e-voting technology is a poor fit for unclear systems requirements that are only now becoming clearly understood. A comparative analysis of European and U.S. experiences is the basis for a solvable problem statement for the U.S. situation, together with a solution approach that is being attempted at present.