A Letter From The Publisher: may 10, 1968

(2 of 2)

Before the century ends, says Dr. Hammer, the voting booth may be a relic of the past. Present-day computers could be programmed to count and analyze ballots cast from any number of remote points anywhere in the country, and to keep a single running, up-to-the-second record of any election. In the future, any home with a telephone will be within dialing reach of election computers; voters, says Dr. Hammer, will be able to call in their ballots without leaving their homes. As an optimistic scientist, he sees the problems of identification of voters as an engineering problem that will soon be solved. Someday, he says, a huge data bank may contain "voice prints" of eligible voters. Then, the mere sound of their voice on the telephone as they call in their choice, will verify their right to a ballot.