Choi, S., " Kim, B. (2012). Voter Intention to use E-Voting Technologies: Security, Technology Acceptance, Election Type and Political Ideology. Journal of Information Technology and Politics, 433-452.
This article discusses the features of e-voting technology, in a world of political contexts. The article discusses different types of elections and how technology can be integrated to execute a credible democratic process. The article examines the security advantages of technology in securing a credible election. Through the methods used in the study, authors of the article can make verifiable inferences on the importance of technology in passing political ideologies and ensuring a credible election process. This article is important in the study as it helps in arriving at credible conclusions concerning the importance of technology in securing a credible election process.
Jong, M., Hoof, J., " Gosselt, J. (2008). Voters' Perception of Voting Technology: Paper Ballots Versus Voting Machine With and Without Paper Audit Trail. Social Science and Computer Review, 399-410.
This article compares the experience of voters using manual systems and computerized systems, to make inferences on the role of technology in politics. The article bases its conclusions on a study conducted, which compared manual systems versus computerized systems of voting. The authors of the book analyze the debates on the invented voting technologies and their importance in the democratic process. The design of the study gives credibility to the inferences made by the authors. This article is vital in this research as it distinguishes the computerized voting system from the manual voting system, to show the relevance of technology in politics.
Stromberg, D. (2015). Media and Politics. The Annual Review of Economics, 173-205.
Stromberg in his article delves into the impact of mass media on politics. The author mainly reviews the welfare of media in the world of politics. The article is not only focused on the impacts of media on politics but also analyses behavioral theirs of media in the political arena. The role of the media in providing information through technology is demystified in this journal article. The importance of media in the democratic process is realized. This article is critical in the study due to its explanation of the media in providing information through available technology.
Choice of article
Choi, S., " Kim, B. (2012). Voter Intention to use E-Voting Technologies: Security, Technology Acceptance, Election Type and Political Ideology. Journal of Information Technology and Politics, 433-452.
This article addresses what ails most electoral systems around the world, particularly third world countries. The issue of election rigging is rife in most elections, and there has been barely any efforts to secure credible elections, which will reflect the will of democracy. This article discusses the role of technology in politics. Politics mainly revolves around the winner of the certain presidential election, or any other seat, which candidates contest to win. Elections seal the deal when voters arrive at the ballot to cast their votes. The main problem, however, ailing electoral systems, is poor voter registration and election malpractices such as rigging. The authors of this article give the importance of technology in ensuring a peaceful democratic process. There is a lot at stake during the voting process, and it is critical to secure the votes of the citizen in particular country. Technology is instrumental in ensuring security for the votes cast, consequently producing credible and verifiable results. The technology integrated into politics will minimize the chances of the occurrence of petitions against winners in elections. The article stands out from the other two but is directly related to information. For instance, Stomberg discusses how the media relays politics through technology. The article (Jong, Hoof, " Gosselt, 2008), also discusses e-voting and the importance of computerized election systems over manual systems, which often lead to disputed elections.
Article’s Main Argument
The question on security in technology when voting raises the main argument in the paper. There have been serious security breaches even in the most secure technological platforms. This makes people argue that security is no a selling point for technology, especially in the technological arena. The authors, Choi and Kim, however, conducted research and made critical inferences on the state of security in ensuring highly credible elections. Potential factors in politics and technology include the types of election and the form of security needed during the electioneering period. Ensuring that there is high security is highly likely to influence a voter’s decision to cast the ballot, as they will be assured that their vote is safe. There are security principles that must be considered to ensure the safety of both voters and election officials. The article discusses the confidentiality of both parties. Security will ensure that the privacy of both the voters and the election officials are highly guarded through state of the art technological security systems. All confidential information and sensitive data can be guarded against unauthorized hands. The authors discuss the importance of security in politics, in a convincing tone enough to encourage politicians to invest in security systems.
Source of Evidence
The authors use results collected and analyzed from their research to make inferences. Their study makes the main evidence of their argument. The authors used confirmatory factor analysis as the primary method in conducting their research. The authors further use the structural equation model to examine the user’s perceptions of the proposed security models, designed to produce credible results and uphold confidentiality. Four hundred and ninety-seven undergraduate university students from a public university in Virginia form the base of the evidence where the authors conducted the research and drew the conclusions. The authors of the article surveyed through a 7-point Likert scale questionnaire, which aided in collecting comprehensive data. Thirty-five undergraduate students completed a pilot test, which was the practical part of the research. The data measures in the survey explored the security principles critical to ensuring a credible and confidential democratic process. The research established the user intentions to use the E-voting system over the manual system, and evidently, more people prefer the E-voting system. The research further established the accuracy of E-voting and verified that E-voting is more accurate, secure, and reliable.
Electronic voting (E-voting)
According to the authors Choi and Kim, electronic voting refers to the act of conducting the electoral process using technology systems. The electronic system is the new way of voting, replacing the manual system of voting, which often is faced with several election malpractices. Electronic voting has several merits, both to the voters and the electoral officials. E-voting reduces the possibility and chances of election malpractices such as election rigging and double registration of voters. E-voting is also crucial regarding ensuring the security of the votes cast. The voter's identity and the electoral officials remain confidential. Electronic voting is an added advantage during the democratic process.
Security
The main argument and basis of the paper is security. Security covers the privacy of all stakeholders in the voting process. This mainly includes the voters and the election period. The authors discuss that adoption of technology will ensure the security of votes cast. The adoption of technology will also ensure confidentiality of the information of voters and the electoral officials. The authors verify that technology adoption will ensure security is paramount.
Research Method
The research method adopted in the article, confirmatory factor analysis, and structural equation model is tailored to bring out the opinions and thoughts of involved parties. Through the questionnaires issued, the researchers were able to make the conclusion based on the participant's opinions and thoughts. Using the principles of security as the standard variables and controlled variables such as education, race, gender and ethnicity, the researchers were able to collect data from a wide variety of participants, making the results even more credible.
Personally, I have gained deep insights on electronic voting and its importance. The article has clarified that through technology, it would be hard to breach the security systems and temper with election results. There is a possibility of a security breach, but through the principles of security, technology enhances voter’s confidence, consequently eradicating voter apathy. I have learned that technology is vital in politics, benefiting all the stakeholders in the political arena. Politicians and governments should, therefore, invest more in technology adoption.
The article gives more insights, which would be instrumental in making component one more understandable. Critically analyzing the article makes me approach the next article with a wider scope and a better execution. Ideas gathered from this article would be instrumental in writing a better article in future, regarding politics and technology. In writing a future article on technology and politics, I would emphasize on the issue of security. Security is a major issue, but with the right personal and technology system, a security breach is almost impossible.
