September 25 - October 2, 2000
Special: Government, Democracy and the Internet
Tidbit Archive
| That the Internet is going to have profound implications for government
and democracy world-wide is beyond question. What those implications
are and whether they will benefit humankind, as most Internet mavens would
like us to think, or whether the effects will be less benign, are open
questions for now.
In the United States, and around the world, in countries from Albania to New Zealand, governments at all levels are putting information and services online. It is possible to download tax forms, learn about job and grant opportunities, obtain birth and death certificates, apply for licenses, apply for university admission, even register for permission to carry a concealed handgun (in Texas, at least). All of this activity is making government more accessible, at least to those on the right side of the digital divide. Political candidates--including Vice President Al Gore and Governor George W. Bush--as well as political parties are actively campaigning and raising funds online. And, of course, the "new media" are reporting on government and politics in greater detail and with more immediacy than media have in the past. Finally, there is the matter of online voting. Presumably, this will encourage turnout by making it easier to cast one's vote. According to National Journal, California Governor Gray Davis "has predicted that within five to seven years, Americans will cast their ballots on the Internet, 'just as easily as they can buy a stock on E*Trade." But there are problems in this, too, with anonymity, with access, and with potential fraud. All of which makes for a tremendously interesting issue for scholars and students of the mutual impacts of technology and society. |
Links:E-government in action: selected official government portals:
Firstgov (U.S. Federal Government)
Mampu (Malaysia)
NZGO (New Zealand)
Texas Online
KyDirect (Kentucky)
eUtah
Europa (European Union)
Home page of the President of Albania, Rexhep MeidaniGeorge Washington University's Democracy Online Project. The goals of this project include research on online politics, development of standards for online campaigning, and creation of "an online public space where good campaign practices and democratic values may thrive." An outstanding resource.
IBM's Institute for Electronic Government. "A leadership resource for government, education & healthcare in developing strategy, policy & implementation of electronic services."
"Is Internet Voting Safe?" By Deborah M. Phillips and David Jefferson, in VIP Reports (from the Voting Integrity Project).
A workshop on e-voting is being held in Washington, DC, on October 11-12, 2000, sponsored by the Internet Policy Institute, with support from the U.S. National Science Foundation.
The Electronic Government Forum is being held in London on November 15-16, 2000. The Forum describes itself as "the established meeting place for executives responsible for developing and implementing e-Government initiatives, providing the opportunity to share best practices with peers and to explore partnerships with commercial suppliers of e-Government solutions, in a relaxed but focused environment."
Conferences on electronic government are also sponsored by E-Gov, publisher of E-Gov Journal.
Electronic Government: Information Technologies and the Citizen, a report of the UK Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST), British counterpart of the former U.S. Office of Technology Assessment.
The Automated Voting Network (includes a rudimentary demonstration of online voting).
"Building Citizen-based Electronic Democracy Efforts," a paper by Steven Clift (1997). Posted by Minnesota e-Democracy, "a non-partisan citizen-based organization whose mission is to improve participation in democracy in Minnesota through the use of information networks."
"Electronic Democracy Toolkit," by Howard Rheingold.
The Arizona Democratic Primary earlier this year allowed Internet voting. Here are the statistics on its results and an article about the experience, "Arizonans Vote in their Pajamas," by Jodi Kanter in Slate, March 14, 2000.
Selected news articles and commentary on online voting:
"Florida Pushes Online Voting," by Courtney Macavinta, C-Net News, December 11, 1998.
"Voting Online," by Jacob Weisberg, Slate, October 26, 1999, and a follow-up
"Obstacles to e-Voting," by Jodi Kanter, Slate, November 2, 1999.
"Testing Cyber Voting," ABC News.com, February 22, 2000.
"Online Voting Puts Web to the Test," by April Pederson, Policy.com, updated July 31, 2000.
E-mail your tidbit suggestions to ateich@aaas.org.Search for more information on technology and democracy:
