The Future of Internet Voting

This symposium, the first in a series on how the Internet might affect democracy and governance in the 21st Century, will explore the opportunities and challenges posed by on-line voting. Participants will review several pilot projects and assess how well the technical hurdles of ensuring security and privacy are being addressed. The symposium also will discuss Internet deployment and concerns over disparate access to voting systems, and consider the legal and regulatory issues raised by Internet voting. The panelists will estimate the possible impact on voter turnout, consider what steps might be taken to provide citizens with useful and easily accessible information to inform their voting decisions, and grapple with the broader implications of the digital revolution for representative democracy.

Governors Gray Davis (D-Calif.), and George Pataki (R-NY), participate via satellite.

Welcome and Introductions

• Michael H. Armacost, President, Brookings Institution

Remarks: “Internet Voting & Digital Democracy”

• John Chambers, CEO, Cisco Systems, Inc.

Overview: “The Possibilities and Challenges of Internet Voting”

• Thomas E. Mann, Harriman Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution

Panel 1: Capacity, Security, Privacy, Regulation

• Jim Adler, Founder and President, VoteHere.Net
• Polly Brunelli, Director, Internet Voting Pilot Project, Department of Defense
• David Mason, Commissioner, Federal Election Commission
• Ann McGeehan, Director of Elections, State of Texas

Panel 2: Civic Engagement and Representative Democracy

• Anthony Corrado, Professor of Government, Colby College
• Governor Gray Davis (D-California)
• Governor George Pataki (R-New York)
• Carolyn Jefferson-Jenkins, President, League of Women Voters

Reception