In the upcoming election, one Florida county will try out a new electronic voting system that will allow soldiers and those abroad to vote without sending in paper ballots.
Okaloosa County, located in the panhandle, will test Operation Bravo, an electronic voting system that would benefit its large population of overseas military personnel.
The program will allow Okaloosa County residents living overseas to place their votes in electronic kiosks instead of mailing or faxing in absentee ballots, said Jennifer Krell Davis, spokeswoman for Florida Secretary of State Kurt Browning.
For the program's first year, kiosks will be available in the U.K., Germany and Japan.
John Cain, a UF Army ROTC administrative technician, said having the opportunity to actually go to a voting kiosk and physically vote could build morale for those overseas.
"It's a motivator for them," Cain said. "It shows we haven't forgotten about them."
A concern with electronic voting has been Florida's legal demand for a paper ballot, but Davis said this kind of voting meets the requirement, as the machines keep a paper record in case a recount is necessary.
She said the closed network the votes would be cast over is similar to one used with Internet banking, which may make this method of voting more reliable than the current one.
"It's much more secure than what they're allowed to do right now," she said.
Pat Hollarn, the supervisor of elections of Okaloosa County, said this election is an experiment for electronic voting.
"There is no reason for anyone to say it won't work unless someone tries it," Hollarn said.
She added that overseas voters are desperate for a way to have their voices heard, and she's received letters from many who would like to vote from afar.
Electronic voting has not reached Alachua County, said Pam Carpenter, supervisor of elections, and with a low military population, she wasn't sure if it would happen anytime soon.
Still, Carpenter said she's interested in how it will all work out
"It's a wonderful thing that we try new ways to reach our voters," Carpenter said. "We'll watch and see how this goes."
