Referendums are likely to be used more frequently in the future, but a primary barrier to using them more often is the difficulty of executing them—both for the electoral board and the voters. However, a recent election in Colorado may offer insight that could help.
In 2014, Colorado held its first vote-at-home election. Voting was conducted entirely by mail. Registered voters received ballots in the mail and were given two weeks to respond. Both political parties feared such an election would favor the other party. However, post-election analysis showed surprising benefits. Voter participation increased by 3.3% with young people and low-propensity voters showing the greatest increase. And new voters were generally party-neutral, not favoring one political party over the other. Incidentally, vote-at-home has been used in Oregon and Washington for years without a single incident of fraud.
This may suggest a path forward for increasing referendum usage. With voting easier to do, voters are more likely to participate and would be willing to vote on more things—more than just representation. Of course, the ultimate step forward would be vote-by-Internet. This is not a new idea. Many countries have looked into it. Estonia and Australia have even held Internet elections. However, it is generally accepted that the technology for a secure election by Internet does not yet exist.
Whether technology will enable a secure Internet election anytime soon is speculative, with people on both sides of the argument. Nevertheless, it is clear that if the process were made easier, more people would do it, and this could perhaps lead to a more engaged electorate as people become more accustomed to making decisions collectively.
References:
Gilad Edelman and Paul Glastris, “Letting people vote at home boosts turnout. Here’s the proof,” Washington Post, 28 Jan 2018, B1
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