United States, Washington, D.C. – December 6, 2016 – The world’s leading voting technology company, Smartmatic, released research today, highlighting voters’ concerns over the current state of America’s voting machines and underlining the connection between outdated technology and a lack of trust in U.S. voting systems. Conducted by the global insight and analytics consultancy Edelman Intelligence, the findings show that following a contentious presidential election, the majority of 2016 U.S. voters want to see investment in new voting systems and technology, and believe that updated technology will increase trust in elections.
Key Research Findings
- Eight in 10 voters and nearly 90 percent of poll workers believe upgrades to the nation’s voting technology will strengthen and build trust in elections.
- One in five Americans who voted in the presidential contest do not fully trust that the national election results were accurately tabulated; and one in three have concerns about the accuracy of the voting technology used at their polling place.
- 69 percent of polled voters – and nearly 80 percent of African-Americans, Hispanics and voters with a disability – said they would support an initiative or legislation that would advocate for or fund improvements to U.S. voting technology.
- 35 percent of African-American and Hispanic voters stated that the voting process at their local polling place was time-consuming and inefficient, versus 25 percent of voters overall.
- 86 percent of voters who used electronic voting machines believed them to be the most secure voting system.