Swiping Right on Democracy

Plus: Is “low-carbon beef” a branding exercise, how online gambling is hollowing out the Philippines & Can China flip a kill switch on U.K. buses?

Is voting by phone the radical change we need for our democracy? Alaska is trying mobile voting on for size. Welcome to the Gist List—a news roundup, things you should know, and my thoughts leading up to today’s podcast episode.

Today is a paid issue, so here’s a sneak peek of what’s beyond the paywall:

🚎 Can Chinese EV buses be controlled from afar?

🥩 What it would take to get “low-carbon” beef (and is it even possible?) (🎁)

🎰 Is gambling killing Filipinos? (🔒)

🐈 Why Indiana is allowing people to trap an endangered species.

🥪 How 12 jurors acquitted the D.C. Sandwich thrower.

But first, here’s our top story:

Alaska is about to run the country’s biggest experiment in phone-based voting. This is a move that feels both obvious (given Alaska’s geography) and high-stakes (given anything political in America). In the April municipal elections, all 240,000 registered voters will be able to cast ballots from their smartphones. This is the first phone-voting rollout of this size in the United States.

This is great for Alaskans whose election days have seen them dodging snowstorms, mail delays, moose attacks, polar bears, Palin progeny, etc. And while trusting election security to “click on the pictures of motorcycles” might sound scary, it’s really not! Just ask the Estonians, who have already been doing this for 20 years.