Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Online Balloting Holds Promise for Increasing Voter Turnout - San Diego Business Journal

San Diego Business Journal Online - business news for San Diego, California:

The world’s second largest democracy, the United States, arguably takes the prize for lackluster voter turnout.

California’s May 19 special election cost the state $60 million — ironically for residents to consider budget reduction measures — yet attracted 20 percent voter participation.

“The cost per vote was extraordinary,” says Lori Steele, CEO of Everyone Counts, a San Diego software company that conducts digital elections around the world.

The state could have spent half that amount and attracted more people by allowing them to vote online or by touch-tone telephone, said Steele, who formed the company in 2006 by purchasing an Australian firm called Everyone Counts Pty Ltd. with $500,000 in funding.

A former financial adviser, Steele has raised $1.5 million in venture capital and is planning another round of funding this summer. ...

No comments:

Post a Comment