Electronic Voting with Examples from Around the World

Electronic Voting with Examples from Around the World Is the use of the internet and electronic voting increasing in elections? There are still many concerns about reliability, security, and privacy. Will we ever vote for our government through a smartphone?

Electronic Voting with Examples from Around the World Is the use of the internet and electronic voting increasing in elections? There are still many concerns about reliability, security, and privacy. Will we ever vote for our government through a smartphone?

Bad weather can deter people from voting, while others forget to register or may be on vacation without an organized way to vote. Couldn't technology remove some of these barriers?

Estonia certainly thinks so.

Around 14 countries have used some form of electronic voting, but Estonia was the first to introduce permanent national internet voting. The small Baltic state began using electronic voting in 2005, and the voting system was used in eight elections. In the 2005 local elections, only 1.9% of voters voted online, but this number increased to over 30% in the last parliamentary elections.

All voters, regardless of gender, income, education, nationality, or even computer literacy, have a chance to become voters. Koitmae says that electronic voting is a good way to engage with younger voters, busy workers, and even Estonians living abroad. "In 2015, Estonians living in 116 different countries participated in the elections using electronic voting." However, it doesn't seem to have increased the overall number of votes, he says. Instead, people have changed their preferred method of voting. Since the start of electronic voting in Estonia, there have been no serious security issues. The technology and processes are regularly updated based on technical advances and experiences from all elections. A key part of the Estonian system is that electronic voting is linked to the country's most modern electronic ID cards, which every citizen and resident possesses.

Digital ID cards allow secure online authentication of the cardholder and enable the linking of a digital signature to an account. Estonian voter Igor Hobotov says that the electronic voting system with an ID makes him feel much safer compared to the older paper-based method. In fact, he says he couldn't vote if the internet option weren't available. "I've voted several times in local elections and parliamentary elections. I've mostly been at home, but once I even voted while on vacation in Cape Town. I prefer electronic voting because it's more convenient and secure - we have a digital ID card with [strong] encryption, which is really, very difficult to hack," says Mr. Hobotov. "I can vote without any hassle. I just sat at the computer. I probably wouldn't vote if I had to go somewhere to do it."

The Australian state of New South Wales allows visually impaired voters, voters with other disabilities, rural voters, and those absent on election day to vote electronically or by phone in general state elections.

Several municipalities in Canada allow internet voting in municipal elections.

Norway tested electronic voting in parliamentary elections in 2011 and 2013 but decided to discontinue electronic voting due to political disagreement and voter concerns.

France previously allowed citizens living abroad to vote via the internet in legislative elections, but it disabled this option for the upcoming legislative elections in June due to concerns about cybersecurity. However, Professor Schneider says that there is no need to fear for security. However, necessary changes present a greater societal challenge, as many people are uncomfortable registering personal information, such as ID cards.

Although there are many questions, they clearly show that where there is a will, there are possibilities. And where are we here?

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