Ben's Blog

Last weekend myself and around 4,000,000 other Victorians who are eligible to vote made our way to 100s of polling stations around the state. We were deciding who should rule.

We waited patiently in line and dodged the stares of the party faithful handing out how to vote cards. Our names were ticked off, we numbered our ballot papers 1 to 5 and popped them in the ballot box. A man was standing there to make sure I did it correctly. We then left to carry on with the rest of the day.

The question I have is why can’t I do this online? I have no problem with voting. I understand how important every vote is, however I have more important things to do than wait in line on a Saturday afternoon… Like watching the cricket or playing with the cat. More important than waiting in line anyway.

Voting online would be so easy.

• I could do it whenever I want (within a given time-frame of say 5 days)
• My vote could go straight into the tally system meaning no manual counting of ballot papers
• Results would be evident in real time
• Authentication would not be a problem. There is essentially no authentication when you vote in the flesh. They don’t actually ask you to prove your identity. At least online you would need to know your name and address. I never get asked to both when I vote
• Absentee voting would be so much easier
• We would save a huge amount of paper. This is good for the environment and our hip pocket
• We would save a lot of labour, which is also good for our hip pocket.

I can pay my bills, apply for a home-load, buy airline tickets and purchase just about anything else under the sun online so why is casting a vote any different? I don’t know.