speech outline

Persuasive Speech Outline

Voting Machines Should Not Be Used

Introduction

Attention Getter: Imagine yourself going to the polls and casting your vote for your favorite

politician on an electronic voting machine also known as e-voting. You get to the machine where

you’re planning to cast your vote, but it turns out that the machine you are using can get hacked

under two minutes. This leads to the following question: Why has the government not taken

action to improve or remove e-voting?

Relevance: According to Alice B. Lloyd, after Russia interfered with the 2016 election, congress

approved a $380 million budget to improve electronic voting machine systems. Yet, only

Virginia has replaced their outdated machine, leaving 13 states still dependent on electronic

devices. There are five states including who want to improve their system; but, they still can’t

afford to upgrade to paper ballots (Lloyd, 2018). Keep in mind, that in the 2016 presidential

election, approximately 138 millions of eligible voters voted (Penn Library, 2018). This

demonstrates that 138 millions of people’s voice may not be heard. Voting is a right and

privilege that eligible voters are given and we need to make sure that every vote counts.

I want to persuade you to begin spreading the word about the flaws of e-voting and make your

voice be heard among your community.

Overview: Today, I am going to talk to you about the flaws of e-voting including: lack of

accuracy, possibility of error, and hacking; and I will give you some solutions you can take to

protect voters and their voice in society.

Transition: The question regarding how safe voting machines are brings up an ethical analysis.

Need/Problem

Voting machines have lost votes and electronic failure.

 In Palm Beach County, Florida in March 2012, the program on a voting machine caused

votes to be assigned to the wrong candidate. Luckily, this county used paper trail which

permitted the county to go back and recount all of the correct ballots changing the result

of the election. Yet, nearly 40 percent of voters are expected to cast ballots on electronic

machines that don’t use paper trial (Clay, 2012).

 During the state of Texas primaries in 2006, a programming error in Tarrant County’s

voting machine created an additional 100,00 votes that were never casted. Hart

InterCivic, the company who created the programmed took responsibly for the error and

claimed to lower future problems. However, companies who develop this types of

program can easily set up which vote goes to which candidate (Common Cause, 2010).

 In 2018 Defcon, one of the world’s largest hacking convention held in Las Vega, Nevada,

proved how e-voting machines are vulnerable to hacking. For example, Rachel Tobac,

CEO of SocialProof Security Company, was able to hacked a voting machine used in 18

states without may tools under two minutes (Inverse, 2018).

Situations like these discourage people from voting because they start believing that their

vote does not matter because they can be easily manipulated or lost at any given time.

Transition: How can you solve this problem?

Satisfaction/Solution

We can solve this issue by raising awareness about the flaws and failures in an e-voting system

within our local community is a good way to make sure people’s voice are being heard in our

democracy. Once our representatives start noticing your protests, they will start introducing bills

which may increase the budget to buy new systems and bring back paper ballots. The limitation

for this solution is that companies need to revise their programs which may take months to years;

but, the wait is worth it. Another solution is for the federal and state government to create

regulations that help update voting machines every five years; since the country was using ten

year-old machines during the last presidential election.

Transition: After discussing multiple solutions, I want to let you know about the future outcome

of voting machines.

Visualization:

The 2018 Midterm Elections was the first to exceed voter turnout because over 100 million

people voted. The number of voters may increase in the next election; therefore, our government

should start improving the electronic voting machine system so we can have a fair and accurate

election that represents the voice of the people. We cannot underestimate the amount of power

voters have on their hands.

Transition: In conclusion,

Conclusion

 Summary: Voting machines lack accuracy because the program can record a candidate for

each time someone votes; meanwhile, other machines can create additional ballots that never

existed. Another flaw of using e-voting machine, is that they’re really easy to manipulate

their control setting, making a specific candidate win the election in the county.

 Action: You should feel responsible to stand up for your constitutional right to free by

starting mini campaigns throughout your community about the importance of sing paper

ballots instead of using e-voting because your voice always matters. If not, then call and

email your local representatives and inform them about the disadvantages of using voting

machines.

 Final Sentence: Hopefully you have now understood the importance of removing voting

machines because not only are you making yourself be heard ,but as well as for future voters.

Thank you for listening.

Refences:

Clayton, M. (2012, 25 Oct). E-voting puts vote accuracy at risk in four key states. Christian

Science Monitor Retrieved from https://sks-sirs-com.db16.linccweb.org

Common Cause. (2010). Electronic Voting Machines Invite Tampering. In D. A. Miller (Ed.),

Current Controversies. Federal Elections. Detroit, MI: Greenhaven Press. (Reprinted

Debacle, 2008) Retrieved from

from Malfunction and Malfeasance—A Report on the Electronic Voting Machine

http://link.galegroup.com.db16.linccweb.org/apps/doc/GYZHII434494530/OVIC?u=linc

clin_mdcc&sid=OVIC&xid=cf59a404

Inverse, K. (2018, August 14). Video footage shows a voting machine used in 18 states being

hacked in less than 2 minutes. Retrieved from https://www.businessinsider.com/voting-

machine-being-hacked-at-defcon-video-2018-8

Lloyd, A. B. (2018). State Elections Systems Remain Vulnerable to Cybercriminals. In Opposing

mdcc&sid=OVIC&xid=e422c12a

Penn Library. (2018, August 24). Library Guides: Post-Election 2016 Recap & Resources: Voter

Science Monitor Retrieved from https://sks-sirs-com.db16.linccweb.org

Turnout. Retrieved from https://guides.libraries.psu.edu/post-election-2016/voter-turnout

Viewpoints Online Collection. Detroit, MI: Gale. (Reprinted from Yes, The Midterms

Will Be Hacked, The Weekly Standard, 2018, July 18) )