In light of a voter software glitch in Indiana, CCC spoke with Human-Centered Computer Scientist Juan Gilbert. Gilbert pioneered a universal voting system that makes voting more reliable and accessible for everyone and for increasing diversity in the computer science workforce.
Here’s what he had to say.
What are the major findings you have found in designing voting systems for people who are voting? For election poll workers?
Juan: The system should have told them it was an invalid address and that they should do a provisional ballot. So, it’s all about communication. So if it’s valid then say, please proceed to voting. If it’s invalid, then, based on what makes it invalid, tell the poll worker to do a provisional or seek supervisor recommendation. It shouldn’t just be to turn you away, there should be further communication on the next step.
Have you seen any systems that would accommodate helping provisional ballot submitters remember to validate their address within the time frame?
Juan: I have not seen any of these systems. Most people look at provisional ballots as a problem and you want to avoid them. Even though I haven’t seen them, it doesn’t mean they don’t exist.
What recommendations do you wish voting systems have for election poll workers now and in the future?
Juan: We’ve come up with laws and regulations in the absence of technology, so the two aren’t talking to each other the way they should. That’s the biggest problem, is that the people who are creating technology are often doing it in a backend bubble, ignoring the laws, procedures and protocols. When you’re creating these technologies you have to talk to various stakeholders. In my lab, we created a new voting technology called Televoting, a form of internet voting. Now I’m doing demos and who I’m talking to are security experts and accessibility experts. So as you do these kinds of innovations and technology, you need to talk to various stakeholders and understand how this fits into their protocols and regulations. Otherwise, you might find yourself in a situation where you created something that you thought was really cool, and then later, because of rules or regulations, it doesn’t quite work the same. So it’s important to actually take the time to talk to the stakeholders and get their input.
What do you think voters, especially young voters should be aware of when voting and preparing to vote?
Juan: The advice I would give voters is due diligence. Understand that you have the right to vote, that you’re in the right place and understand the context of where you are, what state you’re in and what it requires. In the article, they were talking about proof of residency so that means showing up with the materials acceptable where you live. As I said earlier, for those who create any technology, you need to talk to all the various stakeholders. You can’t just create this in a vacuum. This isn’t an app that you just put on the App Store. You have to deal with these regulations, and there’s various regulations that can vary from state to state. A colleague of mine once said, voting is not rocket science. It’s harder because at least rocket science can be defined by scientific principles, voting has laws and people you have to deal with.
Gilbert emphasized that voting systems can be most effective when there is communication in addressing issues like invalid addresses, which can lead to confusion for voters and poll workers.
Read more on the software glitch here and check out our last blog detailing key takeaways from the situation.
