Mobile phones have become a fundamental part of life in today’s society. From ordering food, texting friends, checking grades and sending emails, it’s hard to imagine spending a day without your phone. With how much we rely on our phones for everyday tasks, it’s not surprising that some people have proposed the idea of moving voting onto mobile phones. 

At first glance, mobile voting provides an easy way to skip long voting lines and the scramble for finding voting locations. Mobile voting seems like an easy fix to a system that can seem frustrating and outdated. However, it’s hard to ignore the numerous risks mobile voting presents. For something as important as choosing our leaders, convenience shouldn’t be a main priority.

One of the biggest issues mobile voting presents is security. We’ve all seen large companies, banks and hospitals suffer from major data breaches, despite having teams of professionals working to prevent them. Although advancing security measures and encryption techniques are being implemented to protect users, the risk of votes being manipulated by hackers still remains a problem. Furthermore, susceptibility in software, devices, or digital infrastructure provide hackers a way to steal personal information or obstruct legitimate votes from being counted. This also raises the concern that a voter’s identity could be disclosed and their choices be linked back to them, undermining true anonymity during the voting process. Mobile voting can never be truly secure, and a single hole in the system can compromise an entire election. 

Another complication of mobile voting is access. It’s natural to assume a large majority of people have access to a phone, given the technology encompassed world today. However, according to GovFacts.org, as of 2025, 23.9 million U.S. residents do not have access to reliable internet. While mobile voting may benefit individuals physically unable to travel to a polling location, a significant portion of the U.S. population would be left without a way to cast a ballot. Mobile voting would amplify the voices of people with reliable access to the internet while marginalizing those who lack it.

Finally, there’s the simple reality that technology will break. There is always a possibility of a device running out of battery, a mobile website or app crashing and a server going down without warning. Anyone who has access to a device has learned that devices can be unpredictable, and not everyone knows how to troubleshoot a malfunctioning app. During something as important as an election, even a small glitch such as a weak signal, software update or a forgotten password can prevent someone from voting altogether. Given the importance of an election for a leader, participation should not hinge on whether a phone happens to cooperate on that day or if someone is able to navigate a technical error. 

While some people may argue that mobile voting can expand access, especially those who suffer from chronic illnesses, physical disabilities or mobility challenges that make it hard to travel to a polling location, the solution to these problems should not be to launch a new election system that introduces new risks. A wide range of accommodations for voting have already been set in place, which are protected by federal law. For example, Vote.gov outlines that most states allow voters with disabilities to register and vote through mail, election websites or in-person at official government offices. Additionally, polling locations are required to meet accessibility standards under laws such as the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Help America Vote Act (HAVA). This requires polling locations to have features such as accessible entrances, large-print materials, wheelchair-friendly voting stations, service animal support and at least one accessible voting device at every site. These legally-mandated tools enacted ensure people with disabilities are able to participate in elections, demonstrating that accessibility to voting is not dependent on adding mobile voting.

Mobile voting sounds like a natural next step in the digital world, but the risks outweigh the positive implications of this transition. Voting is one of the few civic processes where we shouldn’t cut corners or take chances. For now, sticking with traditional in-person and alternative options is the safer and fairer option. Mobile voting can’t guarantee trust, stability or equal access, no matter how beneficial it may seem.

The views in this column do not necessarily reflect the views of the HiLite staff. Reach Demi Zhang at [email protected].