Convened by the American Association for the
Advancement of Science
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Statement
In the 2000 presidential election, the inherent weaknesses of our states' systems
of voting were revealed in dramatic fashion. Due to an unprecedented occurrence,
it was impossible to determine for many weeks the outcome of the presidential
voting in the State of Florida and, therefore, to declare a winner in the election
of a new President of the United States. Recounts were undertaken not only of
votes but also of "intended votes," and terminology such as "butterfly"
ballots and "hanging chads" became routine vocabulary of discussions
in the daily news. The certification process, eventually decided by a narrow
margin in the U.S. Supreme Court, came breathlessly close to creating a constitutional
crisis.
The almost surreal events of that election led to reconsideration of the ways
in which balloting is done, and also to requests for new funding to modernize
the voting processes in states and localities. As a result, efforts have emerged
to explore and assess new technological options in voting. To aid in this assessment,
AAAS convened a workshop that brought together technical and cyber-security
experts, election officials, social and behavioral scientists, and public interest
representatives to develop a research agenda in anticipation of the 2004 election
and its aftermath. The workshop lead to a report of priority research needs
representing the best assessment of the expert group.
The proposed research agenda will make an important intellectual contribution
to the study of electronic voting technology by highlighting issues that would
benefit from additional focused research and, in doing so, point researchers
(and funders) to potential avenues of interdisciplinary research and collaboration
across fields. The research agenda will have broader impacts as well. It will
create opportunities for greater public involvement in deciding how to allocate
support for such studies. Ultimately, the findings that emerge from work done
based on this research agenda could contribute to two important areas: (1) future
deliberations about the advantages and disadvantages of various voting systems,
and (2) critical individual and policy decisions about voting in the U.S.
The workshop is funded by the National Science Foundation.
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