“It’s not rocket science. It’s actually harder,” says Dr. Juan Gilbert on accessible voting tech

In this episode of CivicSciTV’s “Local Perspectives,” host Diya Dwarakanath interviews Professor Juan Gilbert, distinguished professor and department chair of computer & information science and engineering at the University of Florida. Dr. Gilbert will be presenting on “The Future of Voting” at the AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Annual Meeting in Feb. 2025. In this episode, they discuss Dr. Gilbert’s research on using technology to make voting accessible for ALL people (disabilities, injury, overseas) and to ensure vote security.

Dr. Gilbert shares lessons learned and innovations. He said “we created a new technology, televoting…the idea is that you could be remote and vote, and it results in a paper ballot that you, the voter, can actually verify. And even if you’re blind, you could verify it.”

Despite positive feedback from security experts and the disability community, the transition of these technologies into real-world voting systems is slow due to political and technical complexities. “We’re actually talking to a voting machine manufacturer as well, hoping that they’re going to license this technology [televoting] and maybe implement it in the future,” noted Dr. Gilbert.

How does his lab collaborate with the community? He mentions “There are various accessibility organizations on grassroots and at the state level – they’re familiar with our work so we just reach out to them and the word spreads.”

The conversation briefly touches on misinformation, then ends with actionable advice and what’s next for voting. Dr. Gilbert also shares the answer to “can I vote on my phone?”

Diya Dwarakanath

Diya is an independent science and engineering journalist. She writes opinion-editorials,blogs, explainers, and feature articles on various topics. Based in Portland, Oregon, Diya is an insightful writer with "a minimalist approach and an eye for detail," said a professional writing colleague. Her unique skillset is combining her subject matter expertise with her interest in furthering science and engineering communication with the public.