i EDITORIAL PREFACE Preventing E-Voting Hazards: The Role of Information Professionals Jo Ann Oravec, University of Wisconsin, USA ABSTRACT In its ideal form, electronic democracy would empower citizens to vote online with convenience, security, reliability, and accessibility. However, electronic vote fraud can prevent citizens from exercising their basic rights in a democracy. Inaccessible e-voting systems also can deny citizens their rights. Unfortunately, attention to these problems generally is muted in the popular media, as those concerned are being accused of spreading rumors and conspiracy theories. This article explores how information technology professionals can employ their expertise to play important roles in dealing with these critical issues. INTRODUCTION Citizens cast votes in the U.S. only a few times a year (at most). Between elec- tions, few of them may stop to think about the systems through which their votes are tabulated. How do they know that the votes they cast will be counted fairly and accurately when the next election rolls around? This question is critical to basic civic functioning in many nations. How- ever, the introduction of advanced infor- mation technologies into the voting pro- cess has stimulated complex concerns at nearly every stage (Fund, 2004). For ex- ample, the increasingly widespread use of touchscreen machines (often without pa- per trails) has popularized such disturbing phrases as black box voting and vote scam (Collier & Collier, 1992; Harris, 2004). The kinds of oversight that have been given to elections in generations past are becoming ineffective rapidly since e- voting systems have the potential for ma- nipulations that are imperceptible to all but the most skilled computer forensic experts (Lauer, 2004). Vote fraud has been a fact of life for as long as voting itself has been in exist- ence. However, e-voting issues engender a new assortment of potential technologi- cal concerns, both ones that are due strictly to flaws in the technology and those that are linked to partisan tinkering. Concerns with the security and reliability of voting systems should be opened to public ex- amination well before elections are con- ducted to ensure that preventive measures are taken if possible. After elections, dis- cussion is critical as well — although non-