This is the second of a series of eight video clips from my interview about Internet voting at Thomson Reuters in New York City  in August 2016 (watch all eight here). Many Americans are asking why we can’t vote on the Internet. It is a very logical question. Our registration and voting system has numerous problems. During the November 8 election, voters experienced many difficulties. Some precincts ran out of ballots. Some of the antiquated voting machines did not work. The registration database contained errors which prevented some from voting. Millions of disabled and overseas voters were not able to vote. In some cases voters stood in line for hours. Numerous other problems occurred at some polling places including altercations.

In Election Attitude – How Internet Voting Leads to a Stronger Democracy, I proposed  Internet voting using smartphones and blockchain technology to keep ballots private and secure. There are many advantages which could be made possible with Internet voting. Voter participation would surely rise and voters would enjoy convenience as they have in so many aspects of our lives including banking, healthcare, education, entertainment, and e-commerce. Our military and overseas citizens could finally vote without having to rely on the outdated paper ballot and postal system.

There are challenges with Internet voting. Security must be assured. The infrastructure to support private, secure, and verifiable voting needs to be constructed and thoroughly tested. The implementation would be up to the states and they will select different approaches and vendors. There is much to do, but it can be done. Anti-Internet voting activists say the Internet is too insecure for voting. They compare it to a perfect Internet with perfect computers and smartphones, a technical environment we will never have. They refuse to compare it to the voting system we have today which has many problems. Now is the time to focus on how to make Internet voting work, not  to criticize it.