Would you vote in an election via SMS?

Posted on 22 April 2008

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I just read a post with some interesting results on Engadget. Basically, 61% of Americans that participated in the poll and were old enough to vote (18) said that they would vote via SMS. 8 out of 10 (80%) of people who participated and were under the age of 18 said that they would also vote with their phones.

In a country (SA) struggling with voter apathy and overwhelmed with mobile activity I think this is a very interesting question.

I think that if I had almost 100% certainty that the voting polls on my cellphone were above board and would work then I would probably vote via SMS.

Would you?

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This post was written by:

Nic Haralambous

Nic Haralambous - who has written 999 posts on SA Rocks.

I am the editor, owner and founder of SA Rocks. This project is close to my heart and keeps me sane and grounded in a country filled with diversity, enthusiasm, confusion, frustration but above all, hope.

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19 Comments For This Post

  1. Gravatar Warwick Chapman Says:

    For sure I would! I am uite sure the cell operators could be held to ensure the voting process was transparent and free from tampering…

  2. Gravatar Nic Haralambous Says:

    Ye, that’s what I was thinking to. Surely it’s a great way. Hell imagine if 10% of mxit users were eligable to vote and actually did. Already a massive improvment on the stats from the last election.

  3. Gravatar Stefano Says:

    Good idea? I think i’ll start working on getting the software developed :P

  4. Gravatar Steve Crane Says:

    I would. But then I work in the IT field and am quite comfortable with technology. I’m sure there are many that would not be comfortable with it. Maybe if they ran the elections as a TV show like Idols more people would be interested in voting. :-)

  5. Gravatar Nic Haralambous Says:

    Steve – Hahahahaha, great point. might work, a reality election race show. Nice!!

    Stefano – Get on it, I want a cut for the idea!!

  6. Gravatar sheena Says:

    I don’t know…surely this would open things up for fraud? Voting twice, etc.

    Hmmm. Either way, I would probably go for it too. even if it just saves me the sake of getting my nails all blackened by the ink they use :P

  7. Gravatar sheena Says:

    oops. forgot to click the follow up thingie.

  8. Gravatar nomhle Says:

    I would definately not.
    I do not trust anyone with my vote, not Mugabe, not Zuma, not King Msawti, not Hilary Clinton, not Barack Obama and definately not the IEC.

    I don’t trust them, I want them hand counted with the media present, intelligence presence, independent viewers. I mean, if you can defraud a hand count, what more a sms vote. If I was Helen Zille, I would buy so many cellc, mtn, vodacom and virgin mobile simcards and spend the whole day voting. Remember how easy it is to buy an ID book in SA? Well, I’ll register all my foreign friends too.

    Basically, NO NO NO to sms voting

  9. Gravatar Nic Haralambous Says:

    So what if an external company, like Vodacom, MTN or Cell c handled the vote counting process with another company??

  10. Gravatar Bernard Says:

    Hi Nic

    I had a look at your social media options for giving this post some love, and didn’t see Laaikit (South African version of Digg). How about adding Laaikit to your social media tags – would love to submit some of your posts.

  11. Gravatar Nic Haralambous Says:

    Hey Bernard! Nice suggestion but I’m not technologically advanced enough to know how to do that myself. I simply use the “Socialise” plugin with Muti thrown in to the mix… any ideas?

  12. Gravatar Twylite Says:

    Definately not. An election that allowed SMS votes could never be “free and fair”. Beyond the technical difficult of making the vote secure and accurate, and the complete lack of auditability, are the social problems of intimidation and vote buying – problems that can only be solved by casting your vote secretly and in enforced isolation.

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