iVote: Apple iPad might be the future voting machine?

In today's time, the disabled face a lot of inconvenience when it comes to activities such as voting. India has a large disabled population, which lacks easy access to election booths and ballots

We already have got access to Electric voting machines (EVMs). But even those are a bit difficult to operate for the disabled.

But, a ray of hope has emerged  with a very unique initiative. Taking place in the U.S., a handful of users are testing voting on an iPad.

Lets look at the initiative in detail.

The voting process, on an iPad, has been made quite simple. An app, developed for the price of $75,000 (Rs. 37,50,000) provides a list of all candidates for the primary. Then, voters take a printout of it, sign it and send it to the election board for counting of votes.

The iPad might be a harbinger of equality to disabled voters. The ability to touch the screen, or make selections via Bluetooth, would bring independence and privacy for the disabled who mostly depend on other people to cast their ballot.

It would also bring renewed hope to those limited to their houses (paralytic patients, for example). The simplicity and mobility of the iPad definitely makes a iPad a better way to vote.

An Apple iPad might sound like an expensive idea, but it actually proves cheaper than other voting tools.  In fact, the regular maintenance and hassles of the voting process can be better managed using devices such as an iPad.

This effort of using an iPad as a voting machine might be a unique one, but many people doubt the security of such devices and their doubts might just be well placed. In 2007, scientists demonstrated that electronic voting machines could be easily hacked which led many states to abandon the touch screen voting system.