For those of us in the United States, it’s that time again – time to cast our vote for elected officials and speak up about how we feel our tax dollars should be spent. Our presidential election is mainstream news globally, as well, as the world waits to see its impact on the financial crisis.

This certainly isn’t the first time the U.S. election process received attention at home and abroad. In 2000, after the presidential election, for several weeks no one was sure who won the presidency. The world watched as images of people holding paper ballots up to a light to determine a particular voter’s choice were displayed across TV networks, news services, and online. As a result, the terms "hanging," "pregnant," and "dimpled" chad became part of our vocabulary.

But still, we have come a long way since 2000.
Since the debacle of Florida's presidential election in 2000, states have spent $2 billion to improve voting equipment and procedures. Almost gone are the punch-card ballots that produced the chads of 2000 – although you can still find some punch-card voting machines on eBay for a few hundred dollars.

Instead, most places now use optical-scan ballots, on which voters mark their candidate's name on cards, which can then be read by machines, or electronic touch-screen devices. (According to the fall 2004 issue of the Election Law Journal, in the United States more than 90 percent of votes are cast or counted electronically.) And, billions of dollars have been spent over the past eight years on electronic voting systems. These systems are supposed to take the guesswork out of vote-counting and address many of the accessibility needs outlined in the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), which was passed in 2002.

HAVA provides significant federal assistance in order to improve the election process across several areas. For example, every polling place is now required by law to have a voting device that allows people with disabilities to vote privately and independently. A voter who is blind can put on earphones and touch a screen or buttons to advance and vote the ballot — in private. The United States is the only country in the world with this type of mandate. (eJournal USA, October 2007)

Voters with other special needs, such as those with limited English proficiency, are also helped by this new technology. In Los Angeles County, California, ballots are provided in eight languages. These technologies are a major enabler for voters who face physical disabilities or language barriers.

Access melds with security issues
There have been a number of missteps made by companies that attempted to market to African American, Asian, Hispanic, or gay and lesbian consumers and did not have anyone on their corporate or external agency teams who represented these market segments. By incorporating diversity into your company and the agencies you work with, you are more likely to avoid potential errors that could offend the consumer and have a long-lasting negative impact on the product image.

In addition, marketing and sales teams must be experts in the target market segments and be responsible for collecting the appropriate research to understand the habits and preferences of the targeted consumer. More organizations are developing campaigns targeted at these growing demographics of culture and language. New events, conferences, and company divisions emerge daily to address multiculturalism and cultural appreciation.

When communicating / modifying your brand to reach a diverse audience, consider cultural sensitivity, translation processes, and legal components related to translating materials into other languages. Successful advertisers and marketers pay attention to cultural cues such as music, food, colors, and history in order to make an emotional connection with diverse consumers and attract their attention – and dollars. They also choose media outlets that these audiences prefer (i.e. TV vs. print vs. online).

Translation and reaching your diverse audiences
Electronic voting systems for have been in use since the 1960s when punch card systems debuted, the newer optical scan voting systems allow a computer to count a voter's mark on a ballot. Direct recording electronic (DRE) voting machines, which collect and tabulate votes in a single machine, are used by all voters in all elections in Brazil, and also on a large scale in India, the Netherlands, Venezuela, and the United States. Internet voting systems have gained popularity and have been used for government elections in the UK, Estonia, and Switzerland.

The problem, many people say, is that the newer systems are insecure and cannot be ‘backed up’, or rather, votes cannot be verified via a paper trail. Although, there are also hybrid systems that include an electronic ballot marking device (usually a touch screen system similar to a DRE) or other technology that prints a voter-verifiable paper ballot, and then use a separate machine for electronic tabulation.

What, if anything, differentiates any ethnic group from the general market and which channels/approach will make a significant impact?

And then there is the Internet…
It goes without saying that we live in an Internet era. Businesses and communication are moving online at astonishing speed. The growth of online interaction can be witnessed by the exponential increase in the number of people with Internet access.

The feasibility of remote electronic voting in public elections is currently being studied by the National Science Foundation. Remote electronic voting refers to an election process whereby people can cast their votes over the Internet, i.e. through a web browser, from the comfort of their home, or possibly any other location where they can get Internet access. With the increasing penetration of the Internet throughout the world, e-democracy is a concept that is beginning to spread rapidly. Like the private sector, candidates, political parties, and governments all are utilizing the Internet to get their message to the public — and to have the public respond to them. Several countries, including Estonia, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and England, now allow their citizens to cast ballots via the Internet.

The reality is, Internet voting is being tested in the 2008 Presidential elections – this week and through Nov. 2nd – as an estimated 600 to 700 U.S. citizens use hardened laptops (PCs with no hard drive to reduce security risks) located at special kiosks in Germany, Japan, and the UK to cast their votes for president. The program is called the Okaloosa Distance Ballot Piloting (ODBP) test program. It could eventually be used as a model to help the roughly 6 million overseas residents vote and, someday, people like me, you, and “Joe the Plumber.”

Whether or not the U.S. expands into an “Internet-voting” system for its elections, technology will certainly continue to shape the way we conduct business and voice our opinions.

Sources:
http://www.fec.gov/hava/hava.htm
http://www.lep.gov/
http://www.electionline.org
http://www.eac.gov/
http://www.fvap.gov/