Prime III: Studying Usability & Security in Electronic Voting for Everyone

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One of the most important rights that Americans have is the right to vote. However, as has become apparent from recent national elections, current voting systems do not always adequately provide a way for all people, especially those with certain kinds of disabilities or who are unable to read, to vote independently, privately and securely. Statistics indicate this is a serious problem, in that up to one fourth of the adults in the United States are functionally illiterate, and almost one in five self-report a disability of some type. We can only expect the problem to become more acute in the future, because the likelihood of a disability increases with age, and people are living longer. Considerations such as these have led the PI to design a prototype direct recording electronic (DRE) voting system called Prime III, with the goal of achieving usable security - namely, a system that is secure and that voters trust, yet which is also easy to use. To this end, development of Prime III had two important research components: human-computer interaction (HCI) and security. HCI issues have been addressed in the prototype through a combination of spoken language, touch screen, and other multimodal technologies, in order to enhance the ability of people who previously could not do so to vote without assistance. With respect to security, concerns that have been noted by various experts (such as vulnerability to hackers, malignant workers, faulty code, lack of recount ability, and human error), have been addressed through solutions such as imposter files, multiple encryption techniques, and an open source format. An informal study conducted by the PI with the Prime III prototype on the campus of Auburn University yielded promising results, with the vast majority of users preferring Prime III over currently available alternatives. This funding will allow the PI to refine his initial designs for the system, and to conduct larger scale studies among voting populations such as the elderly, the functionally illiterate, and those who are visually impaired. Studies to be conducted with this funding will begin, specifically, at the Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind, and will continue in Uniontown, Alabama, whose Mayor, the honorable Phillip White, has graciously agreed to participate in the PI''s research.Broader Impacts: Prime III will broaden the participation of voters with various disabilities including those with illiteracy issues. It is anticipated that the system will ultimately serve as a model for future human-computer interfaces where there is a need to blend usability issues with security concerns.