Electronic voting solutions provider Smartmatic is backing President Obama’s recent call for online voting in the US.

Speaking at the SXSW cultural event in Austin, Texas, Obama asserted that the government is trying to engage tech leaders to “create safe, secure, smart systems for people to be able to vote much easier online”, and called on the country’s IT talent to contribute to the efforts. Responding to these remarks in a press release, Smartmatic CEO Antonio Mugica affirmed his agreement with the idea, asserting, “The future of democracy is digital.” Mugica also noted that “solutions to modernize America’s voting systems already exist.”

For example, Smartmatic is working with the Utah Republican Party to enable online voting for this month’s presidential caucus. The company has also provided election technology, including biometric identification systems, for national elections in countries such as Venezuela and Uganda.

With other countries around the world embracing such technology, it’s time that America heed its president’s call and seriously consider doing the same, Mugica suggested. A country that “has pioneered so many technological advances and boasts world-leading innovations,” he said, “should take steps to ensure its voting system can make the same claim.”

Source: Austin American-Statesman

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March 15, 2016 – by Alex Perala