Voting at the next federal, state or council election could be as easy as clicking a mouse or swiping the screen on your smartphone, if Phillip Zada has his way.
Through the University of New England, the 29-year-old Derrimut man is researching the viability of online voting in Australian elections as part of his PhD.
Mr Zada, who is doing his doctorate studies by correspondence while working as a software developer, said online voting was already being used around the world.
New South Wales is also trialling its own version of online voting, called iVote.
Mr Zada said mobile voting was all about making it cheaper for governments to run elections, and easier for voters to vote.
“I know from having a baby, trying to get the child in a car to get to the voting booth and waiting in line can be a nightmare,” he said.
“Having it online will make it simpler. We’re not looking at replacing paper-based voting, we’re looking to complement it.
“Estonia has got one of the best, I believe, e-governments in the world. They brought in online voting in 2005 and they’re pushing many government services online,” he said.
“Australia pioneered and introduced the currently used secret ballot system in 1855, so why are we so behind in keeping up with the rest of the world?”
Mr Zada is currently running an online campaign across social media to get debate and discussion going on the topic. Join in at mobilevoting.com.au.
