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In 2024, election technology reshaped how polls were conducted, managed, and experienced– marking a pivotal moment in the evolution of democratic processes. From blockchain-based voting pilots to AI-driven voter outreach, the intersection of innovation and governance offered both opportunities and challenges.
America sought to enhance security, accessibility, and trust in the electoral system; technology emerged as a double-edged sword—streamlining operations while raising concerns about misinformation and privacy.
As we wrap up the year, let us look at some of our favorite election technologies of 2024, exploring the breakthroughs, controversies, and the future of tech-enabled democracy.
Artificial Intelligence bombs at the polls
Interestingly, the big moment from election tech in 2024 was the lack of a particular ‘big tech’ – Artificial Intelligence.
Despite initial fears of AI-driven manipulation, its role was confined mainly to support functions like data analysis, voter outreach optimization, and drafting campaign communications.
Direct voter engagement and election integrity were less affected than some had predicted.
Governments and election bodies also implemented stricter regulations on AI-generated content to prevent misinformation, limiting its unchecked use. These measures included labeling AI-generated materials and restricting the use of deepfakes in campaign ads.
Besides, people just don’t like AI-generated content. It lacks nuance and that elusive ‘human touch.’ 71% of Americans said they fear its influence on elections.
However, like most technologies – it will get better. These are just the early years of AI.
What about 2025? We predict that AI-generated advertisements (labeled appropriately) will finally make the breakthrough.
Why? It is simply cheaper, so any company that can crack it stands to make a killing among political parties.
Voters: Gotta catch them all!
One area where election technology is flexing every muscle is voter verification. There are diverse views about voter verification – ranging from “they are stealing elections” to “they are stopping voters,” But overall, the trend has been towards digital verification of voters across databases.
Many states adopted stricter voter ID requirements, including biometric verification like fingerprint or facial recognition and real-time ID authentication systems linked to state databases.
(This is something that most financial institutions have implemented for their front door but is only now coming into critical election data.)
A further step was that digital voter registration systems cross-checked voter credentials against multiple databases, reducing duplicate registrations. States also collaborated to share voter data and detect fraudulent activities through initiatives like the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC). These collaborations helped identify individuals attempting to vote in multiple states or using invalid registrations.
Where is the next step? Honestly, it is the machines that count and store the votes. They have very poor security; many have bad passwords and are simply outdated.
But who must bell the cat to upgrade the machines? Will the federal government pay for this? Or the states? The debate continues.
Read More: Political Technology Examples: The Tools That Win Elections
Twitter a.k.a X: Storm in tweet cup
Twitter (rebranded as X in 2023) played a complex and controversial role in the 2024 U.S. elections, reflecting the evolving dynamics of social media platforms in politics.
A big change was that Twitter’s policy changes now allowed political ads, reversing previous restrictions. This opened the floodgates for targeted advertising by candidates, PACs, and advocacy groups.
The majority owner, Elon Musk, also loosened Twitter’s content filters and restrictions – so that political speech could be made freely on Twitter without fear of content being banned. (Outright hate speech will now have its reach suppressed, not banned)
While this did allow a lot of ‘free speech’ back on the platform, it also allowed for a tidal wave of disinformation, outright lies, and racism.
Incidentally, throughout 2024, Musk’s political engagement on X increased significantly, with his posts about Donald Trump becoming some of the most-liked on the platform.
Is this the future of online political discourse? Go to social media and just lie about your opponent?
For now? Yes.
There is no realistic alternative to Twitter so far, and with TikTok facing a ban in the US and the falling engagement for political content on Facebook – tweets remain the loudest online political discourse.
People are trying with alternatives for Twitter. But inertia, especially in public discourse, is a massive hurdle.
PS: Community notes are good. But let’s be frank – the ‘truth’ cannot be what a majority of people agree it to be. That’s literally the first step to groupthink and a tidal wave of disinformation.
Podcasts were a major thing, especially since everyone said the Joe Rogan podcast was a massive nail in the democratic campaign coffin. But we will have to wait for the midterms to see if that was a flash in the pan or a new frontier for campaigning.
PS: Have listen to CallHub’s podcast – The Tech and Tactics Podcast.
Future of election technology: A brave new world
What is the future of election technology? It is hard to say exactly, but whatever it is, it has to balance innovation with security, transparency, and accessibility.
The technology has to make it easier to reach voters and easier to vote while still retaining confidence that the technology is not going to end democracy as we know it.
Take AI for example. AI has huge potential to analyze massive amounts of data – meaning it has a bright future in the ‘predictive’ space – creating polling patterns, sensing voter sentiment, and predicting voter turnout. On the other hand, AI data can also be trained to give ‘false’ results, potentially affecting how an election swings.
So it’s a tightrope. But here are two ideas that are more on the safe side.
Virtual reality
Augmented and Virtual Reality technologies were increasingly utilized in political campaigns to create immersive experiences for voters, enhancing engagement and understanding of policy proposals.
Media outlets also adopted VR and augmented reality (AR) technologies. For example, CBS stations utilized AR and virtual sets across multiple stations to present electoral data.
Virtual platforms like Meta’s Horizon Worlds also became spaces where users gathered to discuss and react to election results in real-time.
Okay, that didn’t entirely take off and remains weird, but we predict it will improve in 2025!
Blockchain for election transparency
On a more serious note, adopting blockchain technology in electoral processes will enhance transparency and trust, ensuring the integrity of voting systems and reducing the risk of fraud.
Blockchain’s decentralized and immutable ledger ensures that every vote cast is recorded transparently and is accessible for auditing. Voters and officials can verify the process in real time without compromising individual voter privacy.
So why isn’t blockchain used in voting machines now?
In real-time, handling millions of votes on a blockchain requires significant computational resources and advanced network infrastructure.
And while blockchain ensures transparency, maintaining voter anonymity is critical. Designing systems that separate vote content from voter identity remains currently impossible.
But let’s be optimistic about the future.
Happy New Year 2025
So that’s all from us. Thank you for making 2024 such a challenging and record-breaking year for CallHub. We hope you join us in 2025 for all the latest in cutting-edge election technologies and join us in our journey to help changemakers get the tools they need to make a difference.
Happy New Year!
(Feature Image by fancycrave1 from Pixabay)
