Let's hope this scenario doesn't become a trend. The company that may have put President Bush in office because of programming errors has finally admitted they have had a problem for ten years. Diebold, now renamed Premier Election Solutions, has finally admitted votes disappeared when transferred from memory to a central location. The flaw was on both their optical scan and touchscreen machines.
Implications - A corporation's reputation is conducive to its success. As such, when a company commits an action which can be interpreted negatively by the media, it's more advantageous to admit to that action rather than cover it up. This will convey the company as being transparent in its operations, which is a quality consumers look for in their business relations.
U.S. E-Voting Election Scandals
Diebold's Faulty Voting Machines
Trend Themes
1. E-voting Machine Reliability - Opportunities to innovate and improve e-voting machines' technology to ensure accurate vote tabulation and prevent system failures.
2. Transparency in Corporate Operations - Opportunities to promote corporate transparency to increase consumer trust and enhance business reputation.
3. Government Election Monitoring - Opportunities to increase government oversight and monitoring of election systems to prevent voting discrepancies.
Industry Implications
1. Election Technology - Opportunities to develop and market more reliable, secure e-voting machines for use in elections.
2. Corporate Reputation Management - Opportunities to provide reputation management services to companies to promote transparency and accountability.
3. Government Oversight and Regulation - Opportunities to develop and implement regulations and oversight measures for election systems to ensure fair and accurate voting results.