| | |  Editorials | Opinions | September 2009 
Electronic Voting: Similarities and Differences Between the US and México
 Guillermo Ramón Adames y Suari - PVNN
September 27, 2009
 |  | We have similar questions but different approaches and solutions: technical, tactical and legal. |  | | |
The comparisons in this article are intended to be constructive and beneficial to the development of both democracies. A typical UN approach is to compare results to enlighten both parties and it is its sole purpose.
The US elected a President in 2008. In the process, Americans were very concerned as the 2004 presidential electronic voting reported various technical problems. An enormous worry grew amongst the American voters: Were failures reported for the 2004's election be there again in the 2008's election? No questions seem to rise in the US concerning the legality of electronic voting. There is a major concern expressed throughout the country with respect to various methodologies, but no formal question was or is raised with respect to its legal frame of reference or the id's of the population which in itself is a major problem.
In Mexico there were elections in 2009 and the concerns were similar but on different basis. Mexico has a law which was voted in 1913 allowing "vote counting" procedures with mechanical machines. Due to the date in which this law was passed: Is the frame of application still valid today? In these 2009 elections, some machines "appeared" in several sites, particularly in the D.F. The questions were: What were those machines doing in the middle of an election? How can they be justified? Were they legal? Can Mexico legally take half electronic, half manual voting? What is the legal frame of reference? Was the law or procedure applicable to the DF but not to the rest of the country? This will start a major voting problem throughout the country in the near future.
So we have similar questions but different approaches and solutions: technical, tactical and legal. Furthermore: Will there be an opening to referendum as a democratic expression?
The US has developed a great deal of "voting" technology but seems to have various operational frameworks. The federal electoral census of the US requires an overall electronic system. Alternatively, Mexico is trying to become operational in voting technologies with major technical limitations. There does not seem to be an agreement as to which is the best technology and a unique identification card/document does not seem to be a consensus. Yet, it could be a solution if envisaged correctly.
Both Mexico and the US probably should look at solutions that have been implemented by countries such as Estonia, Brazil or Venezuela. Their electoral censuses are centralized and their identification documents are unique and valid throughout the corresponding countries. This allows a better summary of the voting population. It also allows the framework for electronic voting and in a relatively near future, telephone voting. It provides a simpler legal framework of operation. A clearer operational context provides an easier understanding of electoral procedures by the population.
What is the situation in Mexico and the US: Our identity cards (Basically a driver's license in the US and the Electoral Id by the Federal Electoral Institute (IFE) in Mexico) do not seem to respond to real future needs for voting. So, we should probably look into potential solutions that are already available in other Member States of the UN.
Guillermo Ramón Adames y Suari is a former electoral officer of the United Nations Organization. Contact him at gui.voting(at)gmail.com |
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