Well, you make it sound kinda OK...
I'm all for making it easy for informed people to cast their vote. I just want fair elections. And it sounds like e-voting could be problematic.
See the Obamacare website debacle story.
So how does Oregon assure fraud-free e-voting?
Oregon was the worst state in the nation in rolling out Obamacare, a real true 100% fiasco. My take on it was that the state over-reached by trying to integrate several Oregon-based health services along with the insurance exchange mandated by the ACA. Oracle, the main contractor took advantage and the whole thing spun out of control. Let it be a lesson that small states should be cautious about launching visionary network services. So, yeah, Oregon is probably the last place to develop e-voting without assistance from other agencies.
This is what happens in our vote by mail system.
Well before election day, we receive a package containing our ballot and an unmarked secrecy envelope with no traceable information on it. The package also contains a second envelope that has our name on it and a place to for our signature. Also, the usual election information is included in the package.
We have several weeks to send the ballot in. If we wait too long and the mail can't carry the ballot to an election center in time for counting, procrastinators like me can drop the ballot off to special mail boxes up until the last minute of the election day.
The way the ballot is cast goes like this: I fill out the ballot at home as I would in a booth, blacking out boxes on the ballot with a dark pencil or pen. The ballot is then placed in the un-marked secrecy envelope and the envelope is sealed. The secrecy envelope is placed in the second envelope, which carries my name. I sign this envelope to attest that I'm the one that filled out the ballot inside. The ballots are then sent to the election center.
In the election center, representatives of the major parties witness the counting of the ballots, including the verification that each ballot was cast in a validated envelope. The parties are pretty good at tracking who votes. My party becomes a pain in the ass until they see that my vote was registered. Because I'm always voting last minute, I get a phone call almost every night leading up to the election day. The actual vote count is done by opening the secrecy envelope which does not contain my name. At this point I have no visibility of the process but the system is mandated by law to keep my vote secret.
Votes have been counted and posted pretty quickly on election day.
The system has been clean except for one instance (that we know of) On the last presidential election, there was one clerk in one office caught filling in blanks on ballots that were not completely filled in by the voter. She was caught out by a co-worker.
http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/news/2013/04/25/clackamas-election-worker-gets.html
I hope this helps. Ask away if I was unclear.
