Article Metadata
Journal Section
ArticlesArticle Title
Election Reform: Alternatives to Ensure Integrity and Increase Access
Journal Issue
Volume 11, 2004Abstract
The 2000 presidential election revealed flaws in the integrity of the election process in the United States and elevated the issue of voting reform to the forefront of the national agenda. Additionally, a gradual decline in citizen participation in the democratic process has highlighted the need to increase access to voting to correspond to our modern era and lifestyles. Successful voting reform must not only modernize electoral systems to ensure integrity but also increase access to the system for all citizens. This is essential to the integrity of our democracy, as lawmakers are responsible to their constituents and, by extension, to those people who participate in the electoral process. Several alternative voting methods have been introduced in the U.S. and abroad. This article will examine two alternatives-online voting and voting-by-mail-in the context of their implementation and challenges to date, their overall feasibility and the extent to which they ensure integrity and increase access to the election process.