Engineering Proposal

Group 2: Imtiaz Chowdhury, Fuat Mondal, Shahjahan Shamim, Rivelle Naito

The Modernization of New York’s Voting System

Purpose

     The purpose of this engineering proposal is to introduce and orchestrate an alternative way to make voting much more convenient and easy. This alternative involves using scanners that can easily obtain the necessary information so that voting can be done anywhere rather than in your designated district.

Summary

      An orderly voting system is necessary to allow for time-efficient and convenient voting. However, our current voting system does not meet some of those standards. Those who are qualified to vote are expected to vote in their designated district which can sometimes be frustrating due to long wait times and overcrowdedness in certain voting booths due to a high population of people in that area. Fortunately, our company has created a solution to this issue. Through the use of scanners and specialized cards, we can assure easier registration to vote and shorter wait times. We attend to hire professional programmers and workers who have experience and great communication skills. Our proposed due date is  November 8th, 2022 which is when the potential midterm elections will be held. We plan to propose our plan to the governor as soon as possible in order to order all our equipment and hire our workers. The workers necessary for our project are highly-skilled programmers, ethical hackers, and notaries. After the software has been developed by the programmers, we plan on test running it to make sure that it is impossible to hack into. Our next step would be to simply introduce our new voting system to the public and implement them in small areas of New York. In addition, we plan on having a survey to see how the voters view our system.
            The machine will work by swiping your identification cards on our swipe machine. This will allow you to vote with something you carry with you all the time. After swiping, the machine will prompt you to show your face into the camera as proof of self identity. After doing this, it will promptly let you place your ballot to scan and it will then give you a thank you page.

Introduction

            The voting system has always been a crucial way that allowed people to voice their opinions towards a government. Voting in the United States was first established to represent the people’s voice to their government and has been exclusive to certain social classes. Nonetheless, as time progressed, more and more people were given the right to vote. In addition, the method of how votes are cast has changed to accommodate the ever-changing advances of technology. Today, votes are organized into districts per each state, and whatever district you are in, you are expected to vote in that designated district’s voting station. This system has been shown to be a bit faulty resulting in some issues such as longer wait times due to heavily occupied voting stations in certain districts while other district voting stations are vacant. People do not deserve to wait an unreasonable amount of time so that they can vote. An alternative for certain states is mail in voting. However, the issue with this is that it takes an extended amount of time for votes to be delivered and counted.

     A recent case that brings about the issue of voting was the Iowa Caucus that took place in February 2020. Iowa’s Democratic Party issued an online voting ballot through the use of a smartphone application for more convenient voting. However, many voters struggled to login and download this application resulting in inconsistencies in voting results. For example, CNN Business analyst David Goldman states, 

“The problem with Iowa’s app was foreshadowed during a test in the days before the caucuses, in which precinct managers said they were having trouble using the app… an app to record Iowa’s complex caucus results isn’t an inherently bad idea. But it should have been tested more rigorously, particularly when it’s responsible for something as important as choosing the next president of the United States.” (Goldman, 2020)

     This Democratic primary that happened in Iowa shows the failure to test the system and the lack to respond from a population large enough to vote. This impacts the people in Iowa not knowing who they voted for in the upcoming 2020 Democratic primaries. It is a helpful system to implement in the future however it should be tested and should be experimented before in a smaller scale than on the primaries.

            To combat this problem, my company will be cooperating with the NYS government to resolve this issue by purchasing card swipes for NYS ID cards that collect all the information from the back of the ID in order to vote and they can use their ID at any NYS approved polling site. This innovation would be crucial to our current voting system because it allows quick access and easy voting if you are not in your current designated district resulting in a potential higher voter turnout from all age groups.

Plan of Work/Proposed program

            We are aiming to propose and enact a new method of voting to all of New York State. Our plan is to modernize the current machinery used for placing polls. We plan to modify them by adding card swipes, for easier registration, and cameras, for identification, to the machines to allow for quicker voting. Our first step is to send our proposal to the governor of New York so that it can be reviewed and proved for our next step. After getting approved, our company will be purchasing the equipment that will be used to modify voting machines. Simultaneously, we plan to hire our programmers who will be assisting us with smooth operation. They will be updating the current voting software so that a camera and a card swipe can be added and accepted. We plan on hiring these programmers for a 2-year contract for maximum efficiency whilst paying them reasonably. After the software has been updated, we plan on performing a test run to check if everything is running correctly. During the time of the test run, we plan on hiring a few ethical hackers who can test our security measures. Once, everything has been thoroughly checked, we announce and introduce the new process of voting to the public. We plan on having our method of voting be used in the future 2022 Midterm Elections.

     Our innovation will help to make voting more convenient due to the addition of cameras and card swipes. The use of the card swipe will enable all voters to identify themselves much faster than the current login method. The addition of the camera, will verify your identity and compare it to your NYS ID. With these upgrades, voters are able to have an easier and quicker time while voting.

Timeline/Task Schedule

The ideal due date for this engineering proposal is the Midterm Elections of November 8, 2022.

  • (April 28,2020-May 28,2020) The proposal is first introduced and sent to the governor of NYS and to be reviewed and approved.
  • (May 30, 2020- August 30, 2020) Order all necessary equipment required for proposal e.g.card swipes and cameras.
  • (August 31, 2020- October 31, 2020) Buy land and equipment for workers to build the tools needed for card swipes at registered NYS voting stations.
  • (August 30, 2020- December 31st, 2020) Hire programmers and ethical hackers who can update voting software to accept webcam video and card swipes, people to test if it is identity proof and hacker free protected, and contract them to a 2-year plan. Hire notary to approve all contracts signed on the two year deal.
  • (January 1, 2021- February 31, 2021) Test run of the software to make sure it works smoothly without any complications on initial software before distributing it out to NYS polls.
  • (February 1, 2021) Introduce the new voting system to the publicto demonstrate the significance of voting
  • (March 1, 2021- December 31, 2021) Test out software by implementing the new system on certain areas in NYS and get surveys from people to test the effectiveness of the new voting system.
  • (January 1, 2022- February 1, 2022) Give an update in this time on new voting system and show data to the public on how people responded
  • (February 1, 2022- March 31, 2022) Review all materials of software for final testing to be sent to NYS officials to get approved to all NYS approved voting sites,
  • (April 1, 2022- November 1, 2022) Implement all NYS voting sites to install new software in designated locations and card swipes when submitting votes.
  • (November 8, 2022) All NYS residents are to be approved to vote in the new voting method in the midterm elections.

BUDGET

  • Hiring programmers will be contract based for about 2 years, benefits and all, their pay will be $70,000.00 depending on experience, a Supervisor to control the staff on promoting this material, Security Guards with Background Checks to be applied to protect while staff members are doing the work as to name a few.
  • Calculations: There are 27 districts in New York  and each district is composed of 2 programmers with brings up a total of $3,780,000.00
  • The Cameras will cost $38.00 and the Card Swipers will cost $63.00. When combined together with each of the voting machines, district, and polling sites, we will have a total of $1,363,500.00. Since there are 100 voting sites in each district, that would be $505.00×27×100=$1,363,500.00. 
  • We are also hiring a notary to make sure all contracts signed are official on a temporary basis and it will cost $500,000.00 for writing the contract to all programmers and a salary of $30,000.00
  • Another addition to this, we are temporarily hiring 2 Ethical Hackers to test our security, so there won’t be any breach in our system. Which will cost $6,000.00 to pay both of the Ethical Hackers.
  • To make our documents official, we had to get the Notary. The cost for the notary will be $40,000.00
  • With all of this combined, we will get a Grand Total of $5,189,500.00 for our budget.

QUALIFICATIONS

     Our company is only interested in hiring those who are experienced with programming. In addition, we seek out those who have great communication skills so information can be easily transferable to other workers. Those who are hired will be expected to have:

  • 2+ years of experience in designing and implementing complex full stack software applications
  • Experience in C# and Python; C/C++ is a plus
  •  Experience in Angular 2, Node.js, JavaScript, CSS is a plus
  •  Familiarity with database programming (SQL Server DB / PostgreSQL knowledge a plus!)
  •  Strong communication and interpersonal skills
  • BE, BS, MS, Ph.D. in Computer Science, Engineering or related technology field

Notary

• Strong commitment and excitement for supporting others: both customers and teammates.

• Comfortable with technology

• Excellent writing and speaking skills

• High attention to detail

• Ability to empathize with customers and walk them through complex concepts with ease

• Eagerness to work in a collaborative team environment

• Ability to pass background check

• Nice to have:

• Knowledge of Mortgage closing documents and process

• Experience providing legal services

• Experience as a New York Notary Public/Signing Agent

• Experience contributing to training curricula or knowledge base resources

• On the job training and ongoing coaching and development

Ethical Hackers

  • Bachelors in Information Technology
  • Advanced Degree in Network Security
  • He/she needs extensive experience in the area of network security and a working knowledge of various operating systems.
  • Attention to detail, problem-solving skills, analytical skills, communication skills
  • Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) certification
  • Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) certification

REFERENCES

Calgary, Open. “Voting/Poll Sites Map.” NYC Open Data, New York City Voter Guide, data.cityofnewyork.us/City-Government/Voting-Poll-Sites-Map/utqd-4534.

Epstein, Reid J., et al. “How the Iowa Caucuses Became an Epic Fiasco for Democrats.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 10 Feb. 2020, www.nytimes.com/2020/02/09/us/politics/iowa-democratic-caucuses.html.

Goldman, David. “Is Anyone Really Surprised Iowa’s Caucus App Failed?” CNN, Cable News Network, 4 Feb. 2020, www.cnn.com/2020/02/04/tech/iowa-app-voting-failure/index.html.

Google, Google, www.google.com/search?q=notary%2Bjobs&rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS822US822&oq=notary%2Bjob&aqs=chrome.0.0j69i57j0l6.5069j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&ibp=htl%3Bjobs&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi2uZaLna_pAhWFYTUKHeDQAR4QiYsCKAF6BAgJEBI#htivrt=jobs&htidocid=WfAEo934tRneinLcAAAAAA%3D%3D&fpstate=tldetail.

Logitech C270 Desktop or Laptop Webcam, HD 720p Widescreen for Video Calling and Recording. Amazon Inc., www.amazon.com/Logitech-Desktop-Widescreen-Calling-Recording/dp/B004FHO5Y6/ref=zg_bs_172511_4?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=4D7EBDSEN7928FZGSHTT.

“Mini USB Magnetic Stripe Swipe Reader – Black.” Dell USA, www.dell.com/en-us/work/shop/mini-usb-magnetic-stripe-swipe-reader-black/apd/a0092482/point-of-sale?gacd=9646510-1025-5761040-0-0&dgc=st&gclid=Cj0KCQjwy6T1BRDXARIsAIqCTXoPUvkEnx-Lor7C8xVHB-9JS0JE6g3TmQMgJ_YcE6ynKJJEkH439XkaAjahEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds.

Programmer Job. g.co/kgs/bjMUaV.

“Programmer Job.” Jobs, g.co/kgs/2JKR4N.

“Programmer Job.” Jobs, g.co/kgs/j6grna.

Salary.com. “C++ Programmer Salary in New York, New York.” Salary.com, www.salary.com/research/salary/posting/c-plus-plus-programmer-salary/new-york-ny?utm_campaign=google_jobs_salary&utm_source=google_jobs_salary&utm_medium=organic.