Mike Richison, MFA, assistant professor in the Department of Art, recently published an article, “Electo Electro 2020, an Interactive Voting Booth Installation,” in the Journal of Network Music and Arts (JONMA), a peer-reviewed open access digital research journal published by Stony Brook University. The article is a follow up to “Voting Booths and Interactive Art Installations: The Diebold AccuVote-TS in Context,” published by JONMA in 2019.
In the article, Richison describes the outcomes and iterations of Electo Electro, an installation project that was created specifically for the 2020 presidential election, and how it was adapted to an online format following the global COVID-19 pandemic. Richison also provides extensive material related to design and technical decisions of the interface, branding, and collateral materials, as well as the networked aspect of the project.
The paper also discusses the project’s relevance to recent debates surrounding voting technology and security. “Voting technology and security are topics that remain in the news, even after the results of the 2020 presidential election became clear,” Richison said. “Uncorroborated claims of voter fraud are flowing from pundits and attorneys alike. In addition to unproven accounts of errors or cheating occurring with ballots and ballot counts, there have been several unsubstantiated statements about vulnerabilities and flaws within the Dominion system.”
Richison also notes, “The riots that occurred at the United States Capitol Building on January 6, 2021 have led to another update of the project. This iteration is a work-in-progress and has the working title of Shelter in Place. This new group of compositions samples videos from the speeches President Trump recorded and posted in the final days of his presidency. The percussive sounds…will be comprised of videos of the rioters smashing windows and breaking down doors.”
Recordings of the Electo Electro project are available are also available online:
1_ELECTOELECTRO2020_Richison_JONMA 3-1.mp4 (1473719 kB)
2_ELECTOELECTRO_NowNet Arts Conference_Nov2020_JONMA 3-1_.mov (726785 kB)
3_ELECTOELECTRO-Bunker Rendition_Dec2020_Richison_JONMA 3-1.mp4 (1057575 kB)
4_ELECTOELECTRO_Shelter in Place_Jan2021_Richison_JONMA 3-1.mp4 (528924 kB)