E-Voting

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E-Voting

Short Description:

Networked tools for receiving and processing the will of the citizenry.

Summary:

Polls and surveys address two different ways of expressing the popular will, but both of them can be profiled with electronic tools that use the Internet to transmit these data. There can be online polls from a controlled polling place when the vote is cast remotely, but the aim is to use these tools anywhere. On the other hand, polling stations can also allow other e-voting systems like those based on local computers or optical ballots.

While polls are official and general consultations to the citizens, surveys are only a statistical way to know the public opinion.

Rationale and Objectives:

What can you use this feature for?

Improving democracy quality.

Our current democratic systems need to empower the citizens with new tools. They should be the key actor in any democratic structure, but political parties and other institutional actors use to concentrate too much power in their hands. Online voting is a new tool that facilitates citizen participation. It introduces, among other things, mobility and the possibility to hold more citizen consultations. There will therefore be more political responsiveness, and the relationship among representatives and citizens will improve.

Modernising electoral administration.

Online voting affects one branch of the public administration where we find many skeptical opinions about its modernisation. Most countries have a good electoral efficiency, and they do not want changes in such areas. However, electoral issues should not remain indifferent to new technologies because there would could pose a serious danger to citizen confidence in public authorities.

Increase voter turnout.

If the online polling systems are well managed and designed, it is almost a certainty that there will be a better turnout because the existence of more voting channels will be used by some citizens.

Why use it? (Compared to other options)

Mobility

Since the traditional vote must be cast in a specific polling station, online polls allow to vote anywhere and the electoral period could be larger.

Economic reasons

Online polls need some technical equipment, but they are cheaper than traditional electoral systems.

Frequent consultations

With some exceptions, direct democracy mechanisms are not frequently used around the world. There are several reasons that could explain this, but one is that the organisation of any election or citizen consultation is not easy. Online polls may change this situation because the organisation of frequent consultations will be easier.

Benefits - Describe the top benefits for each group

All Users: Online polls and surveys may be seen as one step in a path for the modernisation of the public administration. In terms of electoral matters, officials are always very reluctant to consider such changes because their traditional system is not bad.
Citizens: These tools introduce more flexibility in the relationship between citizens and their representatives. There will be more chances for the citizens to express their opinions and this would surely be taken into account by the politicians.
Councillors: Online polls offer to councillors new mechanisms to interact with citizens. This is a good method to improve accountability, but it is always a excellent chance to strengthen the councillor's political strategy with citizen-oriented projects.
Local Administration: Since these tools increase the chances to consult the citizens' will, local authorities would be able to use them for improving democratic participation procedures. Some countries have a large tradition in local consultations and they may profit these new channels.

Limitations and Cautions

Freedom of vote

An online voting system that is carried out without controlled polling stations may endanger the freedom of vote of many citizens since each voter need to use a password - or something similar - that can be stolen or bought. The risk of the so-called family vote or the existence of coercions among employers and employees should be taken into account.

These dangers already exist today in the countries where the postal vote is allowed. There are even some cases, like Geneva in Switzerland, where approximately 90 percent of the census uses this traditional remote voting system.

Therefore, there is not a technical solution for this problem. It is a cultural and social issue. Some countries will easily admit remote voting, traditional or online, because their democratic culture avoids some behaviours that would affect the freedom of vote. On the other hand, other countries need suplementary technical garantees, even the prohition of postal voting, because there are not enough social controls.

Online voting could increase the risk of voting coertion because these behaviours could be massive, but the solution is not again a tecnical element. It depends on the cultural framework of the election.

Digital gap

The traditional electoral system does not require any specific skill and therefore it is open to any citizen, even those completely illiterate. These new tools offer a different landscape and, taking into account the current sociological data about ICT uses, even in the most developed countries, it seems not convenient to propose a total replacement of traditional polls or surveys by these online features.

Auditability

There is a great diference between an electronic polling system and the traditional one with opaque envelopes and transparent urns. Both elements provide themselves enough confidence to the citizen about the secret of his/her vote. They can also guarantee that no vote will be excluded from the tally.

On the other hand, an electronic system is not understandable for an average citizen and even a computer expert needs some elements, such as the source code, to offer a serious opinion. Therefore, these systems need complmmentary control measures like, for instance, a paper trail, the audit of the source code, and an independent electoral board.

Security

It is an obvious danger that should be taken into account. The traditional system has also security challenges, but they are more serious with electronic mechanisms.

Successes ^{collected projects}

- Successful Implementations

Two or three key examples from at least two countries.

The three following cases are polling experiencies with binding effects. This is the most complete profile of these tools because it includes the elements of other options like surveys or non-binding experiences.

Example 1 Title: Geneva eVoting Experience
- Link:

http://www.geneve.ch/evoting/english/etude_projet_evoting.asp

- Usage and Results: A few years ago, the Geneva Government started an electoral reform project whose aim was to increase the turnout in a country where citizen consultations are a key element in the democratic system. The introduction of postal voting was successful since most citizens began to use it. Therefore online polls are only the logical next step in this movement to increase the voting channels.
- Contact Information: Robert Hensler / Chancellor

Example 2 Title: Netherlands eVoting Project for Citizens Living Abroad
- Link:

http://secure.ucd.ie/~kiniry/papers/NL_Voting.html

- Usage and Results: Citizens living abroad are always a group with great difficulties participating in the democratic system. There is often a low turnout and, if allowed, the traditional postal system is not very efficient. Since online mechanisms appear as a perfect solution for these cases, some countries, such as the Netherlands, are trying to offer to these citizens an easy voting channel.
- Contact Information:

Example 3 Title: Spanish Police Board Elections (Guardia Civil)
- Link:

http://www.guardiacivil.org/firmadig/index.htm

- Usage and Results: This is an Internet voting experience carried out to elect the consultative board of the "Guardia Civil", one of the two main Spanish police institutions. Indra manages this process twice (2002 and 2004) and there has been an important turnout increasing. The polling system does not allow an individual to vote outside the polling station, but this is not a great problem in this case since the members of the "Guardia Civil" used to live together in official buildings.
- Contact Information: Juan Navarro / Indra

Further Information

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