Nothing scares politicians more than the unknown. Last year as I was advocating that the Internet be used as a medium for casting votes, I met in Washington, D.C., with a senior staffer for a prominent member of the U.S. House of Representatives.While this person agreed it was a disgrace that nearly 60 percent of Americans do not vote in general or in midterm elections, he was unreceptive to new ideas—such as e-voting—as a way to reach out to the nonvoting public.Surprisingly, his opposition was not rooted in the technical and security issues surrounding using the Internet as a voting channel. Rather, he opposed e-voting because it represented the unknown.Political parties spend lots of time and money figuring out the preferences of the vocal, voting minority. The specter of ascertaining, for example, the hot buttons for the millions of 19- to 24-year-olds, many of whom will be eligible to vote for the first time this November, scares politicians to death. This constituency block—obviously comfortable with using the Internet as a voting booth—represents the unknown. For some, it seems democracy is easier to manage when fewer people participate in it.Here’s a prediction: The next president of the United States will be the candidate who most successfully captures the hearts and minds of the unknown—namely independent voters. “Duh, that’s fairly obvious,” I hear readers saying in unison. No argument here. Instead, a bit of history. The best-known independent voting block in the 1996 presidential election was “soccer moms.” On Nov. 7, these sports obsessed, SUV-driving soccer moms will be pushed off the political playing field by yet another difficult to read, independent voting group. A group, in fact, you may know well, because you are a member of it. Yes, a number of prominent pollsters claim that the swing voting block will be you and your peers—the so-called “wired workers.” Typically, wired workers are technophiles living in suburbia with hearts favoring Democrats and wallets favoring Republicans. Hence, the political quandary.As CIOs, you can play a major role next week in deciding the presidential election.Yes, of course, you can flex your political muscle by making sure that you cast a vote. But, more important, by distributing this column to the thousands of IS workers on your staff and encouraging them to do likewise.The choice is yours. Make the most of it. Related content brandpost Sponsored by Freshworks When your AI chatbots mess up AI ‘hallucinations’ present significant business risks, but new types of guardrails can keep them from doing serious damage By Paul Gillin Dec 08, 2023 4 mins Generative AI brandpost Sponsored by Dell New research: How IT leaders drive business benefits by accelerating device refresh strategies Security leaders have particular concerns that older devices are more vulnerable to increasingly sophisticated cyber attacks. By Laura McEwan Dec 08, 2023 3 mins Infrastructure Management case study Toyota transforms IT service desk with gen AI To help promote insourcing and quality control, Toyota Motor North America is leveraging generative AI for HR and IT service desk requests. By Thor Olavsrud Dec 08, 2023 7 mins Employee Experience Generative AI ICT Partners feature CSM certification: Costs, requirements, and all you need to know The Certified ScrumMaster (CSM) certification sets the standard for establishing Scrum theory, developing practical applications and rules, and leading teams and stakeholders through the development process. By Moira Alexander Dec 08, 2023 8 mins Certifications IT Skills Project Management Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe