It’s election day in many parts of the United States and Oregon is looking to the iPad to help some vote. Could this be the future of elections?
According to an Associated Press report, election workers are bringing iPad and portable printers around to certain communities to help those with disabilities cast their votes. Technically, they’re not voting by iPad, as they’re just using the tablet to mark their ballet, it’s printed out via the portable printer and that’s mailed off to the election center. Still, it’s an interesting look at how the iPad and tablets could find a meaningful spot in our world.
The appeal of iPads for voting in Oregon is simple: if you have some ailments, it can be difficult to see or mark off those tiny ballots. Even some of the touchscreen machines I’ve seen and used are not as intuitive as the tablets we’re accustomed to on the consumer side of things. Of course, there has to be extremely strong security protocols in place before we can even consider this on a wider basis but I like where this is going.
[Via The AP]