Isn't it time we designed an election for the 21st century?

Join Dahlia Lithwick, Jamelle Bouie, and Others for a Discussion About Creating a Better Election System

Join Dahlia Lithwick, Jamelle Bouie, and Others for a Discussion About Creating a Better Election System

Future Tense
The Citizen's Guide to the Future
Sept. 21 2016 12:41 PM

Isn’t It Time We Designed an Election for the 21st Century?

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Maybe our election system will be better by the time this 3-year-old, whose parents were casting ballots in the 2016 New Hampshire primary, is eligible to vote.

Photo by Matthew Cavanaugh/Getty Images

The civic ritual of voting in America is an act of nostalgia. Casting a ballot, unlike most things in our society, doesn’t ever seem to change. It’s the same as it was when you accompanied your parents to vote, or when they accompanied their parents. This deference to tradition would be worth celebrating if our elections weren’t riddled with hanging chads, imperfect counts, long lines, and confusion over who’s registered to vote, and if our voter experience didn’t compare so poorly to other, less important 21st-century customer experiences. Countries like Canada, Brazil, and Germany use electronic voting that offers accurate and instantaneous results. Why not the United States? Why not design an election for the 21st Century?

On Wednesday, Oct. 5, at 6 p.m., Future Tense—a partnership of Arizona State University, New America, and Slate—will host a happy hour and brainstorm conversation in Washington, D.C., on how to create a better, more efficient, and more just election system.* Speakers will include Slate’s Jamelle Bouie and Dahlia Lithwick. For more information and to RSVP, visit the New America website.

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Participants:

Matt Adams
Program director, IDEO

Jamelle Bouie
Chief political correspondent, Slate

Jeremy Epstein
Senior Computer Scientist, SRI International

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Dahlia Lithwick
Senior editor, Slate

Lawrence Norden
Deputy director, Democracy Program, Brennan Center for Justice

Moderator:

Mark Schmitt
Director of studies, New America
Director, Political Reform Program, New America

Correction, Sept. 23, 2016: This post originally misstated the date of the event. It is Oct. 5, not Nov. 5.

Future Tense is a partnership of SlateNew America, and Arizona State University.