It’s a quiet trailer park in New Mexico. A much-undervalued American (much like Bud Johnson in Swing Vote) sits on his porch, beer in hand, radio murmuring about the election that no one seems to care about. Then his daughter steps up—bright-eyed, demanding his attention—telling him, “Dad, this is our country, this is your vote.”
Cut to the newsroom blaring: “Election hinges on one man’s vote.” The camera pans to that same man, shrugging. Until suddenly, the weight of the decision lands on him.
In that instant we realise: the vote isn’t just a check-box. It’s the power of the individual. The narrative of the apathetic becomes the catalyst for meaningful change.
And now we shift frames — from dark humor of indifference to the bold possibility of transformation. Because the truth is: if one vote can matter that much, our system must evolve to make it easier, make it trustworthy, make it undeniable.
United States Eliminates Voting Controversy
In 2024, controversy concerning voting fraud and rigged elections were eliminated in the United States by online voting. The polling industry had also been eradicated as wildly inaccurate with sinister bias by paid contributors for the sole purpose of voter suppression. Observers of each party monitored the count in real-time as actual demographics and candidate vote percentages were displayed for the public, without questionable media predictions. Over 170 million votes were cast via smartphone app or polling tablet and the election outcomes were known without doubt in 48 hours from poll closings.
How Online Voting Started
The mantra from the media began immediately after Joe Biden was announced as the 46th President of the United States in 2020. All the articles had the same title on virtually every news or social media platform, “Why Can’t We Vote Online?”. The supposed reasons continually repeated were that it was too complicated for people to understand or to develop and that it was easily compromised. Estonia was also often cited as the world’s only online voting attempt ridiculed for approach and security.
Nonetheless, 13 states immediately began building online voter registration. The rules were simple:
- Citizens registered to vote each year by September 30th for a verified list of eligible voters.
- At the state voter registration website using their own device at any location or a device at the state election board, citizens enter their State ID, enter or verify listed information, and upload a picture of their ID and a headshot photo with their ID.
- A unique annual voter ID was generated to protect the identity of the voter and the voter selected their own 4-digit pin.
- State election boards then verified the registration with a combination of software and manual audit within 48 hours and sent a confirmation e-mail or text.
2022 Online Voting
With two years of clean and verified voter rolls, 7 States began online voting in 2022. Even though the COVID-21 pandemic continued, these elections were fast, accurate, and easy for citizens:
- State voting websites were active and voting closed per start and end times of state law.
- Similar to registration, citizens took a headshot picture, entered their pin, and then selected and confirmed voting options.
- Software validated the voting picture ID and pin with the registration information and generated a voting record with the unique annual voter ID, demographics, and selected vote. No personally identifiable voter information was recorded to protect voter privacy.
- State officials then verified votes with a combination of software and manual audit within 48 hours.
Seeing such success by the other states, the remaining states passed laws to start online voter registration for the protection of the republic and freedom of the people.
Common Objections Defeated
Online voting eliminated the cost, delay, delivery problems, proprietary voting machines and manual counting of paper ballots. Few lawsuits were filed and there was limited media spin.
- During election years special provisions were made for military personnel and citizens traveling internationally to vote early.
- Admin access to the registration and voting sites was audited with user ID and authenticator app.
- Annual unique voter ID prevented duplicate votes by software validation of facial recognition and voter pin (something they have and something they know).
- Voter rolls were very accurate and did not contain persons that were dead, moved, felons, or non-citizens.
- Votes were locked for editing when cast to prevent mass or individual editing or tampering.
- Firewall monitoring and automatic load scaling prevented intrusion outside of the state or country and outage from sudden and large voter turnout.
- Alternate polling sites were utilized if there were technical difficulties at a particular polling site, plus citizens could always use their personal device and Internet.
- Both State & local government, as well as Republican and Democrat representatives tested and verified registration and voting process, audit logs, and election results.
American Innovation
This is a work of fiction and not a political statement. It’s simply my vision of how to solve voter fraud and election controversy. This is not a complete blueprint to develop processes or software and no warranty is given or implied. As Americans, we need to protect our freedoms and lead the world with our ingenuity.
Just like in Swing Vote, where an everyman father realizes his one vote could change everything, we too operate in a moment where systemic change is not just possible—it’s within our grasp. It takes a little imagination, a little courage, and a lot of trust. When we move from apathy to action, from “that can’t happen” to “let’s build it”, democracy wins its next chapter.
If we treat voting like the high-stakes drama it actually is—because it is—then our future can reflect the best of who we are: brave, efficient, transparent, and respectful of every citizen.