The Arizona Democratic Party plans to include online voting in its March 11 primary election, the first public election held on the Internet, party officials says.
To set up the voting system, the state Democratic party has partnered with Votation.com, a New York company that has held several legally binding elections, including those for nonprofit organizations, credit unions and pension funds.
"We are entering a new age, a new millennium and a new way of voting," said Mark Fleisher, Arizona Democratic Party chairman, in a news conference held to announce the voting system.
Online voting should engender more voter participation, particularly among young people disaffected with the political system, Fleisher said.
Registered voters interested in casting their ballots online will be sent digital certificates, or electronic credentials that the party and Votation.com will use to authenticate their votes, said Joe Mohen, CEO of Votation.com. The voting system will include dual-key encryption technology commonly in use in e-commerce, he added.
Although Arizona Democratic Party officials are heralding the initiative as a landmark in the evolution of voting practices, others expressed doubts about security and about the ability of online voting to attract more voters.
California Secretary of State Bill Jones has cautioned that online voting is not ready for official sanction.
"The technology is there to provide Internet voting places, but it's still a little early to allow voting from the home or the office computer that might not be protected from viruses or other software attacks that would violate security," said Alfie Charles, a spokesman for Jones.
However, Votation.com officials say they have adequate safeguards in place with antivirus software developed by themselves and by vendors Votation.com will identify at a future date.
Votation.com has also contracted with VeriSign, of Mountain View, Calif., to provide authentication and verification services for the voting.
While Fleisher says he expects a significant increase in voting participation with Internet voting, others expressed doubts.
"[Online voting] would tilt the turnout in favor of people who have access to the Internet, which would be those with [advanced] education and income," said Professor Alan Zuckerman, an expert in voter behavior at the Department of Political Science at Brown . "But most people at the high end of education and income spectrum vote anyway."
Some young, computer-savy citizens may decide to vote online, but others will not, he added. "It's not going to bring poor people to vote," Zuckerman said.
The Arizona Democratic Party in Phoenix can be reached at 602-298-4200, or at http://www.azdem.com. Votation.com, headquartered in Garden City, N.Y., can be reached at 516-248-4200, or at http://www.votation.com.
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