Option 1: Write a report to your state or local election officials (or those in a different locality if you wish) describing what steps should be taken to ensure reliable voting technology is used both in the near term (2024-26) and the longer term future. Use the Brennan Report, the VerifiedVoting.org website, and reports from the EAC as initial sources. Write this as if you are a staff person recommending either legislation or policy or both. Make this a detailed as possible, not generalities!
Option 2: Internet voting - what are the advantages and potential problems? Are there procedures that could make this secure and reliable enough to use for absentee voting? For general voting? What do experiences in other countries indicate?
Option 3: Compare different versions of EndToEnd verifiable voting like Scantegrity. Discuss strengths and weknesses. Will these ever be adopted on a state scale?
Option 4: Consider the new laws requiring strict identification in order to vote that have been enacted by several states. Discuss whether these laws are justified. Discuss how these laws may have affected the election results in these states.
Option 5: Select an episode in our U.S. history where election and voting procedures have been corrupted. How did this affect the election outcome. How did the voting technology used contribute to or make the episode possible?
Option 6: Investigate how foreign countries like Russia might interfere in our elections by hacking into voter registration databases and modifying records. Find out how voter registration records are kept for your state and how vulnerable they might be. Based on your research, make recommendations to your state officials for actions that can be taken to protect the integrity of the use of voter registration records.
Option 7: Discuss the issues around the controversy about Alabama's redistrincting for congressional elections. What should the supreme court do?
Option 8: Discuss the issues around the controversy in Wisconsin about gerrymandering and the change in its supreme court.
If you have an alternate topic that involves modern voting technology, you may consult with me as to whether it is appropriate for a paper.
Length of the paper should be enough to develop the aspects mentioned above. I would expect that 8 to 10 pages, perhaps more, would be necessary.
Topic and list of sources (may be added to as you work) - due date on syllabus.
Paper due date on syllabus.