Internetworkers: http://www.ibiblio.org/internetworkers/

["Michael D. Thomas" <mdthomas AT mindspring.com>]

> ummmm... i think i covered this problem years ago...
>
> <http://www.ibiblio.org/internetworkers/column/index.php3?article_view=4>
>

That was (and is) a well thought-out, well researched and well written
article. Oh, if only we could have more such articles like that on the web
site (hint, hint, nudge, nudge :-)

But with much due respect, I must disagree. Now, I'm not going for one of
those "you're wrong, I'm superior," tit-for-tat threads. Email isn't designed
for 'winning' -- that's the domain of sports and games. Rather, I merely wish
to stir the soup of ideas. Working in the space of ideas is near and dear to
me... I feel privileged to get paid to practice in the abstract. The most
illustrative quote I've seen about this is from Dr. Fred Brooks, _Mythical Man
Month_. He speaks specifically about Software Engineering, but I think his
quote applies to all intellectual arts:

"Finally, there is the delight of working in such a tractable medium. The
programmer, like the poet, works only slightly removed from pure
thought-stuff. He builds his castles in the air, from air, creating by
exertion of the imagination. Few media of creation are so flexible, so easy to
polish and rework, so readily capable of realizing grand conceptual
structures. "

And, while I'm waxing about ideas -- I was at MoMA recently and I saw the
painting, "The Conquest of The Air," which immediately resonated with me. It's
the best graphic depiction of the joys of dialog that I have seen. It's shared
at this link:

http://www.moma.org/provenance/items/222.47.html

;-)

...And now, back to my originally scheduled point:

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I still contend that the remote Internet voting being considered in Europe
disproportionately facilitates the voting of the technology-rich.

When someone votes online from their home computer, they are using a personal
asset to facilitate their voting.

Those that have computers have the choice to use one manifestation of their
material wealth to vote.

That choice means members of the technology-rich may be more likely to vote.

The same argument can be applied to the automotively-rich here in the
U.S.A. -- most polling places are inconvenient to reach unless you have a car.

Neither of these are examples of the kind of deplorable politically motivated
barriers that have been used in democracies, such as the Grandfather Clause.

However, those for whom it is more convenient to vote are more likely to do
so, (nearly) by the definition of 'convenience.'

Remote Internet voting disproportionately makes voting more convenient for the
technology-rich.

A system where remote Internet voting is an option will be biased towards the
technology-rich to the degree that convenience is increased for them.

The question: does that matter?