News

July 11, 2001
Contact: Eloise Teklu, Chief Public Information Officer, Tel: 213.736.1045

THE IMPACT OF INTERNET VOTING ON AMERICAN DEMOCRACY
SUBJECT OF SPECIAL ISSUE OF LAW JOURNAL

LOS ANGELES - Just before the controversial 2000 presidential election, a group of leading legal scholars, political scientists, and political consultants (including former Clinton advisor Dick Morris) met at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles to discuss the impact that voting over the Internet could have on American democracy. In light of the disputed election that immediately followed the conference, they have produced a volume of articles, "Internet Voting and Democracy," just published in Volume 34, Issue 3 of the Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review.

Issues of voting and democracy have taken on a special urgency in the wake of disputes over "hanging chads" during the Florida recount, explained conference organizer Richard L. Hasen, a professor of law and William M. Rains Fellow at Loyola Law School of Los Angeles. "The Florida election controversy has caused many people to clamor for elections to be held over the Internet as soon as possible. Although critics have focused on security and fraud questions, the larger question is whether Internet voting, if adopted, would change the nature of American democracy. The leading scholars in our symposium think it may well do so, but they are divided on whether the changes will be positive or negative," Hasen said.

The concerns explored by scholars include: Will the "digital divide" mean that turnout will be skewed against the poor and minorities? Will the Internet lead to an era of direct democracy to the detriment of our system of government by legislatures? Will voters who vote at home over the internet be subject to bribery or coercion, or become more self-interested voters?

Other conference scholars see a rosier future, with the Internet bringing together voters with common interests who are separated by geography, or allowing voters to provide more accurate information on their preferences to their representatives.

"This divergent group of scholars agreed upon two things," Hasen said. "Internet voting is coming, and it will change the nature of American democracy. Before we take the plunge, careful reflection is not only desirable, but necessary."

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