I believe that voting should be a compulsory civic duty and would, therefore, welcome the idea of authenticating and mandating the process through internet services like Facebook, Google, and Twitter. Mandatory voter authentication would assure the optimal participation of eligible voters in the process of democracy. A 100% voter turnout implies, at the very least, that the outcome of an election represents the views of an entire population. Besides promoting the democratic ideal of representative government, mandatory voting also promises to limit voter apathy that often culminates in the ascendancy to power of incompetent candidates. In fact, eligible voters who fail to turn up for a voting exercise wittingly or unknowingly neglect their ability to effect change. The consequence, albeit not necessarily, is that sometimes the minority might elect undesirable or even incompetent personalities. Detractors who contend that mandatory voting violates the ideals of free speech and the right to silence fail to understand a fundamental concept. The purpose of compulsory voting is not to compel individuals to cast valid ballots or even endorse a candidate. On the contrary, its primary objective is to validate the democratic; if everyone votes, then that might be considered genuinely democratic. After all, it is entirely within one’s rights to cast a spoilt ballot. The tally of such votes could then be used as a measure of voter dissatisfaction. In that case, due diligence should be taken to restrict the use of any parts of the voter authentication system before the actual ballot exercise to limit the potential interference with voter records.
The automatic registration and authentication of voters have the potential to affect elections - even of the lowest conceivable offices – in two decisive ways. Firstly, automatic registration protects the democratic process by limiting the potential for the illegal registration of voter. Automated authentication then ensures that only persons whose records are in the system vote hence limits the chance of voter impersonation. A system such as The Circle’s TruYou may still be vulnerable to security breaches as is the case with any other information systems, but it at least enhances information security significantly. Secondly, such automation that effectively makes voting compulsory also reduces the need for electoral candidates to energize their support bases to the exclusion of others. Candidates’ policies will win the day since elections will no longer be decided swing votes that are an effect of the extent of voter turnout.
Question 2
The idea that Demoxie could make government irrelevant is arguably fallacious and contradict the fundamental philosophy of democracy. In an ideal democracy, people define what they expect of government and elect individuals into office to serve the interests of the electorate. Demoxie actualizes an open democracy where leaders reach directly to the people through internet services to ensure optimal engagement between elected officials and the voter base. Such reduces the need for the often expensive political campaigns that often require significant resources to travel and hire grounds for engaging the general public. Funds that politician could otherwise spend on on-the-road campaigns could then be appropriated for other pressing concerns such as education and healthcare. Indeed, it is encouraging to observe that current politicians adopted social media in their political campaigns during the 2016 U.S elections. President Trump continues to use his Twitter handle to engage the constituents.
Question 3
SeeYou’s ability to reveal an individual’ criminal history with a simple retinal scan is a welcome innovation. Belinda envisions a favorable scenario where a law enforcement officer “scans a crowd, and he immediately sees all the people with prior convictions” (Eggers, 2013, p.228). It is even conceivable that retinal scans could reduce the likelihood of racial profiling in law enforcement that arises from the individual biases of police officers. However, SeeYou may create situations where a police officer obsesses with even the minor offenses of an individual that might not be worth pursuing at the expense of more significant crimes.
The NeighborWatch application is also a considerably innovative piece of security technology that seeks “to make the committing of crime, any crime, extremely difficult in a fully participating neighborhood” (Eggers, 2013, p.230). The registration of people’s biologically identifiable characteristics with the system makes it difficult for people who are not known members of a community to enter an area unnoticed. That is a welcome feature because a neighborhood can recognize the potential threat of an intruder immediately. However, NeighborWatch’s ability to monitor the movement interferes not only with the privacy of registered members but also that of visitors who may not feel comfortable being under constant watch.
Question 4
Mae’s locates Mercer using the SoulSearch and initiates a lengthy chase of her ex-boyfriend by random people. When the participants of the search find him and begin chanting his name, Mercer panics and instinctively decides to flee. The pensive Mercer plunges over a ridge with his car and dies. The provocation of Mercer demonstrates how dearly people value their privacy and the lengths they would go to protect it.
References
Eggers, D. (2013). The circle: a novel. New York: Alfred A.
