More experiments put technology to a vote at the polls

What a difference a week makes at the polls.
On Feb. 3, those who swear by smartphone apps got their comeuppance in reporting caucus results from Iowa.
But on Tuesday, following a two-week voting period in a test program in Seattle it appears that online voting might have a future.
In the case of the Iowa app, developed for relaying caucus results quickly from 1,600 sites, major hitches delayed final results by more than a week.
It’s clear the chief flaw in that experiment was the app was largely untested before being deployed among other miscues.
Still, as for that test program in Seattle, that’s focus was on promoting mobile voting as a way to increase voter turnout, it did exactly what it was designed to do.
Turnout increased for voting for an open spot on an obscure, volunteer conservation board in King County, Wash., from less than 1% to positive raves. (Actual result will not be released until the end of the week.)
It was the first election in the country in which every registered voter in that district was eligible to vote online, using their phone or a touch-screen device.
Seattle voters could print a ballot and return it by mail, or submit it online with an e-signature. The elections board then verified the signatures and printed a copy before processing the ballot.
The idea here is to start small, where the risks are not so great, and to see if voters will avail themselves of the convenience. Online voting trials have been offered on absentee ballots in some states and for military voters, which West Virginia has done.
Yet, many security experts warn against expanding it, saying online voting could be vulnerable to hacking or glitches. There’s also still unease nationwide over election integrity following Russia’s attempts to hack voting data during the 2016 election.
But despite the security risks, the savings of not having to mail ballots to voters, allowing more time to vote and the sheer convenience could increase turnout
As an aside, King County, Wash., shifted to an all-mail voting system in 2009, another attempt to increase voting participation. In a letter to the editor on this page, a reader reports our state Legislature is looking at a vote-by-mail proposal, too.
Experiments like this should continue in the search for ways to improve voter turnout.
Online voting in particular seems almost inevitable at some point in the future.
Many things are already done or stored online — banking, work, health records, job applications — that also concern us that they be secure.
Of course, with the Iowa app still fresh in our minds, it’s apparent online voting is not quite ready for primetime.
But what a difference 10 years might make.