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Last week, this comment spurred a few subthreads about electronic and/or digital and/or online voting (depending on what one wants from it). I felt like the dominant view was that it was a terrible idea, hopelessly insecure, and perhaps even a bridge too far for one being able to think that an election is legitimate.
Today, I saw this article, saying that Kamala Harris' name was left off of some Montana ballots, causing them to shut things down until they could fix the problem. As I started reading, I casually wondered, "Shut what down? Just the ballot-printing process? Why is the headline saying 'voting system'?" Then I read the article and learned for the first time that Montana has an "electronic absentee voter system" that allows, for example, "Max Himsl, a Montana voter living in the UK," (who reported the issue) to "fill out his ballot online".
Whelp, I guess it's arrived. Is it a stupid, terrible idea? Is it hopelessly insecure? Has it delegitimized Montana's election? It is something that nobody's doing, nobody would do, nobody would be stupid enough to do, and it's a good thing that it's happening now?
Having not personally looked into the technicals of the system at all yet (obviously, having only just heard about it five minutes ago) and having said that I thought that a lot depended on technical specifics, I have little idea about how to feel other than that it seems obviously impossible for online voting to seriously maintain secrecy in voting, which I do care about. Of course, almost any system that allows for absentee voting seriously struggles on this point (as was pointed out by one of those international pro-democracy organizations that I quoted long ago), though I think that most people are somewhat willing to give up a little bit of this if it's a small number of absentee votes.
I still don't understand how "a Montana voter living in the UK" isn't a scandalous notion in the first place. Why do UK residents need to vote in Montana? You don't live there! It's not your place of residence! I can see exceptions for American military and other foreign service roles, but if you're just an American that voluntarily elected to live in London, I find it baffling that anyone thinks you should be voting for the mayor of Missoula.
I agree with you, but just to make the case: could the person living in the UK be drafted into the US military in a war?
Checking https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selective_Service_System it looks like all US male citizens from 18 - 26 are required to register for selective service, as well as resident non-citizens including: immigrants (illegal or otherwise), refugees and asylum seekers. Non-citizens exempt from registration are international students on visas, visitors (lived in the US less than a year) and diplomats. Though if an international student visa lapses they are required to register.
Perhaps I have read too much Heinlein, but that non-citizens clause feels utterly bizarre. An alien might be forced to commit treason against his country if he is drafted by the US. As an intuition pump, consider an American civilian working in Moscow. If Putin decided to send him to fight Ukraine, I am very sure that the US government would consider that some kinds of rights violation.
I vaguely recall a scene from a civil war movie where an immigrant on a pier in NY was first given a certificate of citizenship and then a draft order, which is IMHO the proper way to do it.
I assume non-citizens would hypothetically serve non-combat roles, if there was a need for draft probably would need a lot of ditch diggers.
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