Having spent so much time in politics, Tusk had the persistent impression that most politicians are only aiming to win the next election, and if it’s a low-turnout, fiercely contentious primary, then the politics and politicians engaged would also be more divided and partisan.
However, what if voting in a primary or general election became as simple as purchasing eggs from Instacart? According to Tusk, mobile voting might enable that.
According to him, the goal of mobile voting is to significantly boost turnout, particularly in primaries, from 10% to 30% or 40% in order to bring things closer to the center.
Tusk has invested $20 million of his own funds in mobile voting because he is so certain that it would revolutionize American democracy. His nonprofit, the Mobile Voting Project, will soon release open-source code for local and state governments to utilize for free after years of research, testing, and piloting the concept.
In recent elections in seven states, the early use of mobile voting by deployed veterans and individuals with impairments validated for Tusk the rise in turnout he had anticipated. According to him, more individuals use technology to make things easier.
Regarding security, Tusk mentioned anonymous ballot counting, outside vendors, and multifactor authentication as measures to guarantee election security. According to him, a tracking code that allows voters to monitor the status of their ballots will boost voter confidence.
However, anyone following Georgia’s 2020 elections will tell you that ensuring voting is safe and convincing people that it is safe are two different things.
Former Georgia State Election Board Republican Ed Lindsey likened discussing mobile voting in Georgia to kicking a hornet’s nest. He is also speaking from experience, having served on the board following the 2020 elections. Although it is still a long way off, Lindsey added that the shift to mobile voting is feasible. Similar to now, trust will be the largest obstacle in the future rather than technology.
We need to respond to three questions. Firstly, does it facilitate voting? Yes, Lindsey said, that’s simple. Secondly, does it make cheating more difficult? Third, does it inspire confidence in voters? That is still a long way off. However, the third problem will ultimately arise after the second has been resolved.
In order to urge mayors and municipal councils nationwide to allow mobile voting for voters in the next local elections, Tusk is visiting with them to explain the technology and its purpose.
Starting at a smaller level makes sense, he said, partly because of the biggest difference between the impact local government has on your life, which is really significant, and the low turnout in local government elections.
In addition, he hosted a mobile voting event with Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s family and visited with civil rights activists.
According to him, it’s the best anti-voter suppression weapon available. He suggested that voters in a precinct with long queues could use their phones to cast their ballots instead.
Tusk has the funds to publicize his concept and provide the source code to interested local governments at no cost. He can also assist them on the back end with the numerous procedures needed to ensure that ballots cast on phones and tablets are safe and simple enough for voters to follow so they may have faith in the outcomes.
In order to provide the notion a bipartisan legitimacy, he may also utilize a reliable southern Republican, like as Governor Brian Kempto, to endorse the former New York Democrat.
However, what he truly wants is for voters to be aware of the concept, support it, and express their desire for it to be implemented to their local MPs.
Thirty years ago, people would not have believed that they would one day be using a square with buttons in their hands to pay their bills, watch TV, and contact a stranger for a ride. Even though it may seem unthinkable at the moment, mobile voting will eventually become popular. Tusk believes that the earlier it occurs, the better. To make it happen, he is investing a great deal of time and money.
“I want this to just be good for democracy in general,” he remarked. In the end, the goal is simply to increase the number of voters, who will represent the majority’s will and be superior to the extremists’.
I would vote in favor of that if that is the result of mobile voting.
