Comments on: We Can Bank Online. Why Can’t We Vote Online? http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/ideas/2012/11/we-can-bank-online-why-cant-we-vote-online/ How human ingenuity is changing the way we live Mon, 20 May 2013 20:28:37 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4 By: Megan http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/ideas/2012/11/we-can-bank-online-why-cant-we-vote-online/comment-page-1/#comment-1276 Megan Wed, 07 Nov 2012 16:00:29 +0000 http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/ideas/?p=4308#comment-1276 I think the word you're looking for in paragraph 12 is "expatriates", not "ex-patriots". I think the word you’re looking for in paragraph 12 is “expatriates”, not “ex-patriots”.

]]> By: Lane http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/ideas/2012/11/we-can-bank-online-why-cant-we-vote-online/comment-page-1/#comment-1274 Lane Tue, 06 Nov 2012 23:02:54 +0000 http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/ideas/?p=4308#comment-1274 I did vote online and it made life infinitely easier since I'm broad for university. I know some people didn't get their absentee ballots on time and voting online would make this problem obsolete! I did vote online and it made life infinitely easier since I’m broad for university. I know some people didn’t get their absentee ballots on time and voting online would make this problem obsolete!

]]> By: irve http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/ideas/2012/11/we-can-bank-online-why-cant-we-vote-online/comment-page-1/#comment-1273 irve Tue, 06 Nov 2012 21:07:26 +0000 http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/ideas/?p=4308#comment-1273 Estonia can do it since we have national electronic ID (a smartcard with two digital signature keys which never leave the card). National ID is something that I see cropping up in the US discussions to be immediately ridiculed and trodden upon. I honestly don't get it. The fact that I can do my (quite trivial) taxes online in 2 minutes since the tax agency knows my salary; the fact that I can give my legally binding digital signature from anywhere in the world for most of my dealings with national structures; the fact that I can vote on my Windows, Mac or Linux computers which takes 2 minutes along with downloading the software — all these things are possible only due to our national ID being able to identify me uniquely. Sure, there are security issues, but the convenience we have gained far outshines the risks as of now. We'll see about the future, but I honestly suggest implementing similar schemes as online identity verification has been a non-issue for years now. Estonia can do it since we have national electronic ID (a smartcard with two digital signature keys which never leave the card). National ID is something that I see cropping up in the US discussions to be immediately ridiculed and trodden upon. I honestly don’t get it.

The fact that I can do my (quite trivial) taxes online in 2 minutes since the tax agency knows my salary; the fact that I can give my legally binding digital signature from anywhere in the world for most of my dealings with national structures; the fact that I can vote on my Windows, Mac or Linux computers which takes 2 minutes along with downloading the software — all these things are possible only due to our national ID being able to identify me uniquely.

Sure, there are security issues, but the convenience we have gained far outshines the risks as of now. We’ll see about the future, but I honestly suggest implementing similar schemes as online identity verification has been a non-issue for years now.

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