Patent Application
20050263593
The present invention relates to a system and method of maintaining maximum security and traceability of a vote while allowing convenience to a voter using electronic devices for elections. More specifically, this invention relates to an apparatus and method of controlling any Local, State, or National election process by the use of methods of an existing financial network wherein votes are cast by the transfer of local currency from the voter's account to the candidate's account. Only voters with valid bank accounts, using approved banking access conduits and methods such as ATM's, automatic teller machines, or personal computers with secure access to bank accounts can vote in this system.
The United States Presidential Election of 2000 showed that state governance of the election system profoundly impacted the results of the election potentially in an inaccurate fashion. U.S. states have responsibility for registering their voters, maintaining accurate lists of registered voters, developing ballots, managing election logistics and security, and certifying and communicating election results. Furthermore, each state has a different method and budget for accomplishing these objectives. Further, as stated on Page 116 STAT. 1666 of DOCID: f:publ252.107, HELP AMERICA VOTE ACT OF 2002, Public Law 107-252, enacted by the 107th Congress, is “An Act to establish a program to provide funds to States to replace punch card voting systems, to establish the Election Assistance Commission to assist in the administration of Federal elections and to otherwise provide assistance with the administration of certain Federal election laws and programs, to establish minimum election administration standards for States and units of local government with responsibility for the administration of Federal elections, and for other purposes.” Because of this legislation, now there are multiple companies with disparate voting functions and systems being adopted by states.
Thus, it is desirable to have a countrywide common method of election systems that allows for state by state managed voter registration at banking institutions, votes to be cast on highly secure ATM's or through home, office, or other public banking conduits by transferring currency from voter's to candidates bank account, and an accurate means for counting votes in less time and at lower cost by measuring candidates' bank balances, perhaps in real-time.
According to the American Bankers Association's website, in 2003 there were 10.8 billion transactions performed on 371,000 ATM machines in the U.S. This amounts to 52 transactions for each of the 206 million voting age people in the U.S. If all of the voting could be performed in one ATM visit, then an election would amount to less than 2% usage of the ATM network system in 2003. The Personal computer (PC) has become widespread in the last 20 years. Together with enhanced encryption and security techniques, banks have turned PC's into home banking tools to help their customers manage accounts, transfer money, or pay bills.
According to The Tower Group, biller-direct payments are expected to grow from 41% of all electronic bill payments to 61% by 2005. While the number of bills paid electronically today is still under 5% of all household bills, it has been growing over 30% annually. Nielsen//NetRatings, the global standard for Internet audience measurement and analysis, reports in April of 2004 that nearly 75 percent or 204.3 million Americans have access to the Internet from home.
This wide availability of securely networked ATM's and personal computers makes the present invention practical. As described below, the present invention takes advantage of the PC and ATM to provide human interface functions without the need for proprietary voting entry hardware.
Previously proposed voting systems have all fallen short of providing the highest form of voting security, traceability, and convenience.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,373,134
Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 6,607,137
There are multiple patents describing physical ballot punching and reading such as U.S. Pat. No. 4,641,240
Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 6,081,793
U.S. Pat. No. 4,015,106
The management of financial systems, demands a high level of attention to security. Thus, users have confidence and trust in our financial system.
In accordance with the teachings of the present invention, a system and method of voting is provided.
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide the most trusted and secure electronic system and method of election voting.
It is another object of the present invention to provide the most electronically traceable system and method of election voting.
It is another object of the present invention to provide the most convenient electronic system and method for election voting.
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Network 2 is comprised of servers 4 running software 3 with wiring connections to the other systems on the network. These servers are typically the property of the bank, but can also be owned by consortia.
Banks 6 are connected to the network by 5 and provide access to the network for customers wishing to transfer funds for various reasons by using software 7.
ATM's at banks 8 are purchased and maintained by banks for the purpose of providing convenience allowing their customers to withdraw or deposit funds through software 9 any day or time and are connected to the network by connection 10.
ATM's at gas stations 11 and ATM's at grocery stores 14 are purchased and maintained by gas stations and grocery stores respectively so as to provide convenience to their customers in a similar way that ATM's at banks 6 provide this service.
Personal Computers PC's 17 with encryption and system software 18 at home are purchased by individual users who can then connect to the network by connection 19 to their bank 6 for the purpose of monitoring their accounts, transferring funds, or paying bills.
All of the above functions with their network connections can be considered acceptable for use as election voting machines. Ballot screens as shown in
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Although the invention has been described with particular reference to certain preferred embodiments thereof, variations and modifications of the present invention can be effected within the spirit and scope of the following claims. It is evident that those skilled in the art may now make numerous other uses and modifications of and departures from the specific embodiments described herein without departing from the inventive concepts.
Additional benefits and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art to which this invention relates from the subsequent description of the preferred embodiments and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
