TEST OF INTERNET VOTING COULD PROVIDE ANSWERS

Missouri will be one of three states participating in a very limited -- just 250 voters in all -- experiment to allow overseas U.S. soldiers to cast absentee ballots on the Internet. The experiment must first get legislative approval, but it seems to have some practical applications in situations like this.

Currently, soldiers stationed overseas must request an absentee ballot and then mail it back to their local county clerks to be counted. Sometimes the time it takes for this process results in ballots that aren't counted.

The Internet, however, offers instantaneous access to local officials, and both election and military officials say there are adequate safeguards to protect Internet voting.

Even though the Internet might make it easier for soldiers who want to vote to do so, it isn't likely to make them any more interested in the balloting process, just as soldiers who haven't been in their home communities for a long period of time probably won't know much about the candidates or local issues.

There is still much to learn about the potential of Internet voting, and a limited experiment could provide some answers.