Federated voting with criteria-based discrimination

• US 8,887,987 B2
• Filed: 10/17/2006
• Issued: 11/18/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 10/17/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Yee, Dawson, Forbes, Scott C, Guday, Shai, Abel, Miller Thomas
• Primary Examiner(s): KELLY, RAFFERTY D
• Application Number:
  US11/550,274
• Publication Number:
  US 20080087729A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,954 Days
• Field of Search: 235/50.A, 235/51
• US Class Current: 235/51
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 13/00 Voting apparatus

Abstract

Technology for use with computing devices, particularly mobile devices and wireless networks supporting federation, enabling people, devices, systems, or the like to join together in electronic federations for purposes of voting or the like. The votes in such voting situations may be weighted based on various criteria associated with the voter, the subject of the vote, and/or other criteria relevant to the voting scenario. The technology also enables users to monitor a voting scenario in real-time and tailor their own voting or decisions or the like to the scenario, even as it unfolds.

Claims

1. A method performed on a mobile device of a federation of devices, the method comprising:

receiving registration criteria that are specific to a particular voting scenario, where the registration criteria comprise a list of voters of a plurality of voters, where the voters on the list are eligible for the particular voting scenario;

receiving a registration request for a voter on the list for the particular voting scenario;

determining, in response to the received registration request, that the voter meets the registration criteria;

registering the voter, based on the determining, for the particular voting scenario; and

registering, in response to the registering the voter, a presence of the registered voter in the particular voting scenario, where the registered presence of the registered voter in the particular voting scenario indicates that the voter has been registered for the particular voting scenario regardless of whether or not the voter casts a vote in the particular voting scenario and regardless of whether or not the voter withdraws the cast vote in the particular voting scenario.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

accepting a vote from the registered voter via the mobile device of the federation of devices;

weighting the vote based on weighting criteria; and

applying the weighted vote to the particular voting scenario.

3. The method of claim 2 further comprising:

receiving a request to withdraw the weighted vote; and

discriminating the request to withdraw the weighted vote based on withdrawal criteria, the request to withdraw succeeding based on the withdrawal criteria being met by the voter; and

canceling, based on the withdrawal criteria being met by the voter, the weighted vote from the particular voting scenario.

4. The method of claim 2 wherein the weighting criteria forms the weight-discriminated vote based at least in part on an identity of the registered user or an association of the registered user or a membership of the registered user or an affiliation of the registered user.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the registration criteria is used to discriminate based on at least one of a voter identify, authentication, association, and characteristic.

6. The method of claim 1 embodied as device-executable instructions stored on at least one physical device-readable medium.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising allowing the registered voter, based on monitoring criteria being met by the registered voter, to monitor voting in the particular voting scenario in substantially real-time, wherein to monitor voting includes allowing the registered voter to observe how the vote is progressing.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising modifying, by the registered voter, the particular voting scenario by at least adding additional options to the particular voting scenario.

9. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

adding a new mobile device to the federation of devices, wherein the new mobile device includes a plurality of votes for the particular voting scenario, the plurality of votes collected on the new mobile device prior to the adding from a plurality of voters;

accepting the plurality of votes from the added new mobile device; and

applying each of the accepted plurality of votes to the particular voting scenario.

10. At least one physical computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a mobile device of a federation of devices, cause the mobile device to perform actions comprising:

receiving registration criteria that are specific to a particular voting scenario, where the registration criteria comprise a list of voters of a plurality of voters, where the voters on the list are eligible for the particular voting scenario

receiving a registration request for a voter on the list for the particular voting scenario;

determining, in response to the received registration request, that the voter meets the registration criteria;

registering the voter, based on the determining, for the particular voting scenario;

registering, in response to the registering the voter, a presence of the registered voter in the particular voting scenario, where the presence of the registered voter in the particular voting scenario indicates that the voter has been registered for the particular voting scenario regardless of whether or not the voter casts does not cast a vote in the particular voting scenario and regardless of whether or not the voter withdraws the cast vote in the particular voting scenario.

11. The at least one physical computer-readable medium of claim 10, the actions further comprising:

accepting a vote from the registered voter via any device of the federation of devices;

weighting the vote based on weighting criteria; and

applying the weighted vote to the particular voting scenario.

12. The at least one physical computer-readable medium of claim 11, the actions further comprising:

receiving a request to withdraw the weighted vote; and

discriminating the request to withdraw the vote based on withdrawal criteria, the request to withdraw succeeding based on the withdrawal criteria being met by the voter; and

canceling, based on the withdrawal criteria being met by the voter, the weighted vote from the particular voting scenario.

13. The at least one physical computer-readable medium of claim 10, the actions further comprising:

adding a new mobile device to the federation of devices, wherein the new mobile device includes a plurality of votes for the particular voting scenario, the plurality of votes collected on the new mobile device prior to the adding from a plurality of voters;

accepting the plurality of votes from the added new mobile device; and

applying each of the accepted plurality of votes to the particular voting scenario.

14. A mobile device and at least one program module that are together configured for performing actions comprising:

receiving registration criteria that are specific to a particular voting scenario, where the registration criteria comprises a list of voters of a plurality of voters, where the voters on the list are eligible for the particular voting scenario

receiving a registration request for a voter on the list for the particular voting scenario;

determining, in response to the received registration request, that the voter meets the registration criteria;

registering the voter, based on the determining, for the particular voting scenario;

registering, in response to the registering the voter, a presence of the registered voter in the particular voting scenario, where the registered presence of the registered voter in the particular voting scenario indicates that the voter has been registered for the particular voting scenario regardless of whether or not the voter casts a vote in the particular voting scenario and regardless of whether or not the voter withdraws the cast vote in the particular voting scenario.

15. The mobile device and the at least one program module of claim 14, the actions further comprising:

accepting a vote from the registered voter via the mobile device of the federation of devices;

weighting the vote based on weighting criteria; and

applying the weighted vote to the particular voting scenario.

16. The mobile device and the at least one program module of claim 15, the actions further comprising:

receiving a request to withdraw the weighted vote; and

discriminating the request to withdraw the weighted vote based on withdrawal criteria, the request to withdraw succeeding based on the withdrawal criteria being met by the voter; and

canceling, based on the withdrawal criteria being met by the voter, the weighted vote from the particular voting scenario.

17. The mobile device and the at least one program module of claim 14 where the registration criteria is used to discriminate based on at least one of a voter identify, authentication, association, and characteristic.

18. The mobile device and the at least one program module of claim 14, the actions further comprising allowing the registered voter, based on monitoring criteria being met by the registered voter, to monitor voting in the particular voting scenario in substantially real-time, wherein to monitor voting includes allowing the registered voter to observe how the vote is progressing.

19. The mobile device and the at least one program module of claim 14, the actions further comprising modifying, by the registered voter, the particular voting scenario by at least adding additional options to the particular voting scenario.

20. The mobile device and the at least one program module of claim 14, the actions further comprising:

adding a new mobile device to the federation of devices, wherein the new mobile device includes a plurality of votes for the particular voting scenario, the plurality of votes collected on the new mobile device prior to the adding from a plurality of voters;

accepting the plurality of votes from the added new mobile device; and

applying each of the accepted plurality of votes to the particular voting scenario.