Brazil (voting machines)
The beginning of the Brazilian e-voting endeavour can be dated back to 1985, when a computerized election database was being implemented by the Superior Electoral Court. Around the same time, in 1986, voter and civic information including usability and feasibility studies started. Background to the consideration of e-voting in Brazil were economic and fraud-prevention aspects. The e-voting machines, as they are still in use today, were developed in 1995 and first used in municipal elections in 1996. The e-voting project was prepared and accompanied by the Superior Electoral Court that formed a technical committee led by researchers of the National Institute for Space Research (INPE) and the Aerospace Technical Center (CTA). They defined a specification of the functional requirements. Various vendors and software companies were involved in the development of the various generations of voting machines in Brazil (cf. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elections_in_Brazil#The_Brazilian_voting_machines). The source code of the e-voting software is proprietary. Brazil loans the machines to other countries (e.g. Paraguay or Ecuador).
The Brazilian e-voting machines are used for voter identification, vote casting and tallying. Political parties have access to the voting machines programs for auditing. The voting system has been widely accepted, since it speeds up the vote count tremendously and helps preventing fraud. Initially a paper trail was included in the e-voting systems. However, this was abandoned later due to technical problems associated with the printers. The missing of a paper trail is sometimes criticized since vote auditing is deemed impossible. Critics argue that this makes the whole process highly dependent on trusting the software.
The Brazilian Supreme Electoral Court regularly funds research aimed at improving security. E.g. in 2009, a hacking competition was organized to create additional confidence in the technology In 2011, new biometrics based voting machines were being developed. The Electoral Court started implementing biometric identification in the electoral process in 2012.
For more information:
http://english.tse.jus.br/electronic-voting
Canada (remote Internet voting)
Several approaches to the implementation of remote Internet voting can be found on municipal and provincial level. Some elections are fully electronic; others offer the choice of either paper or electronic ballots. Some municipal councils explicitly prohibit the use of electronic means in elections. Where e-voting is permitted, technical implementation varies to a great extent. These heterogeneous developments are a consequence of federalism in Canada. Each political entity can decide over their electoral method independently.
No internet voting is available on national level. However, Elections Canada (the Canadian EMB for national level) is examining Internet voting. So far, no trials have been carried out, although the topic was discussed on several occasions.
Neither on national nor on provincial level Internet voting is provided for in the Election Acts. However, in some of the ten Canadian provinces, there are clauses that permit for testing new equipment in by-elections. Based on such a clause, Ontario is planning to use internet voting for testing purposes in by-elections.
At local level, Internet elections are provided for in two provinces: Ontario and Nova Scotia. In Ontario, the legislative framework allows municipalities to offer alternative voting methods. As early as in 2003 (from November 5 to November 10), twelve Ontario municipalities tested Internet voting in their municipal elections. With each election, the number of communities offering Internet voting increased. In October 2014, about one-quarter of the municipalities in Ontario (98 out of 414) offered internet voting in the elections. Voters could choose, which voting channel they wanted to use. In Nova Scotia, the first implementation of internet voting took place in 2006, when four municipalities offering this voting method. In 2012 the number of municipalities has grown up to fourteen.
In British Columbia as well as in Ontario, some of the “First Nation communities” (bands of Aboriginal groups) allow for internet voting in their elections as well as in referendums.
For more information:
Estonia (remote Internet voting)
Discussions on Internet voting started in Estonia in 2001 and one year later, in 2002, the legal provisions were put in place. During the summer 2003 the National Electoral Committee started the actual e-voting project. A public procurement procedure was carried out and the Estonian company Cybernetica Ltd. was mandated with the development of the e-voting system. The system includes the use of smart cards and electronic signatures. In late 2004 the first test of the whole e-voting system took take place during a consultative referendum in the capital city of Tallinn.
The Estonian Internet voting system offers various ways of voter identification:
- ID card with PIN codes. The system requires PIN codes, PC with Internet access and a smart card reader as well as ID card software
- Digital ID (document which allows identification of a person in the electronic environment and signing with digital signature)
- Mobile ID. Requirements: mobile ID SIM card with PIN codes and certificates, PC with Internet connection, mobile phone (no card reader or special software is needed)
Voters can test the e-voting system at www.valimised.ee in order to check whether they have the appropriate software and identification device. Vote verification will have to be implemented
In 2005, Internet voting was used in municipal elections (more than nine thousand voters cast their vote via the Internet) and since then, legally binding remote Internet voting is offered as an additional voting channel for all elections. Remote Internet voting was thus applied in the 2005 municipal elections and after that in further municipal elections (2009 and 2013), in national parliamentary elections (2007 and 2011), European Parliament elections (2009 and 2014)
The basic protocol has remained essentially unchanged. Voters can cast their vote via the Internet from the 10th to the 4th day prior to Election Day. This is necessary in order to ensure there is time to eliminate double votes by the end of the Election Day. A voter may change his/her electronic vote during the advance-voting period by casting another vote electronically or by voting at a polling station by paper. The paper vote takes precedence over the electronic vote. On election day the electronic vote cannot be changed anymore.
In 2012 a separate Electronic Voting Committee was established who is now responsible for remote Internet voting. The National Election Committee has a supervisory role.
More information:
Germany (DRE voting machines)
In 2009, the German Constitutional Court found that the kind of DRE voting machines used in parliamentary elections in Germany were unconstitutional. According to the constitution all elections must be public. The DRE voting machines did not allow citizens to examine the determination of the result. The Constitutional Court however stated that the key steps of an election (including vote casting and counting) must be subject to public scrutiny without any specialized knowledge. According to the Constitutional Court e-voting is not per se unconstitutional. However, it required better transparency measures or an adaptation of legislation allowing for a reduced level of transparency in return for greater accessibility.
The digital pen as planned in Hamburg (cf. http://www.hamburg.de/99776/digitaler-wahlstift/) was considered admissible by the German Constitutional Court since it would allow for independent verification of the registration of votes. However, in Hamburg the digital pen was not used.
More information:
https://www.bundesverfassungsgericht.de(ruling translated into English)
India (electronic voting machines & remote Internet voting)
Since 2002 electronic voting machines are being used in India. First pilots took place in 1982. The voting machines consist of two Units – a Control Unit and a Balloting Unit. The Control Unit is with the Presiding Officer or a Polling Officer and the Balloting Unit is placed inside the voting compartment. Instead of issuing a ballot paper, the Polling Officer in-charge of the Control Unit will press the Ballot Button. This will enable the voter to cast his vote by pressing a button on the Balloting Unit against the candidate and symbol of his choice.
For a long time, the Indian e-voting system did not provide any paper trail. This was not deemed necessary since voters generally had a high degree of trust towards the EMB. However, after rulings of Delhi High Court (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/EVMs-not-tamper-proof-but-no-paper-trail-Delhi-HC/articleshow/11522072.cms?referral=PM), Supreme Court (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/SC-asks-EC-to-consider-request-to-modify-EVMs-/articleshow/9365269.cms?referral=PM) and political pressure, the introduction of a Voter-Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) was decided (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/New-EVMs-to-have-paper-trail/articleshow/11561762.cms?referral=PM). As a pilot project, VVPAT was introduced in 8 of 543 parliamentary constituencies in the Indian general elections in 2014 (http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report-evm-paper-trail-introduced-in-8-of-543-constituencies-1982463).
Alongside with voting machines, remote Internet voting is started to be experimented with in India. In 2011, the first experiment with remote Internet voting took place in the Indian state of Gujarat (http://www.business-standard.com/article/beyond-business/e-voting-for-it-land-111072300044_1.html).
Norway (remote Internet voting)
The Norwegian Government and Parliament decided to test the use of e-voting in 2008. The first trial took place during the local government elections in ten municipalities in September 2011. Following the positive experiences in 2011, the government decided to conduct another e-voting trial during the parliamentary elections in 2013. The controversial issue was discussed at length in Parliament and in April 2013 a narrow majority approved to continue e-voting trials during the parliamentary elections. Twelve municipalities were involved in this second e-voting trial. Although the trials of 2011 and 2013 were positively reported on and no significant security concerns have been raised, the topic remained politically controversial. In the discussions fears that the security mechanisms for the transmission of the vote over the Internet were insufficient and that the casting of a vote outside the polling station might endanger the sanctity of the vote were mentioned. In the end the lack of a broad political support for the introduction of Internet voting led to the decision of the government in June 2014 not to conduct further e-voting pilots in Norway.
For both the 2011 and the 2013 trial with Internet voting in Norway special regulations were issued (Regulations relating to trial electronic voting during advance voting, use of electoral roll at polling stations on election day, and use of new ballot papers at the 2011 municipal and county council elections in the selected municipalities of Bodø, Bremanger, Hammerfest, Mandal, Radøy, Re, Sandnes, Tynset, Vefsn and Ålesund, and the county municipalities of Møre og Romsdal, Hedmark, Vestfold, Vest-Agder, Rogaland, Hordaland, Sogn og Fjordane, Nordland and Finnmark, laid down by the Norwegian Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development on 31.3.2011). Regulations relating to trial Internet voting during advance voting and use of electronic electoral rolls at polling stations on election day during the 2013 parliamentary election in selected municipalities, laid down by the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development on 19 June 2013. In these regulations the deviations from the law were specified, and when no deviation is specified, the Representation of the People Act (Act No. 57 of 28.6.2002 relating to parliamentary and local government elections) applied.
The regulations only covered the specific trial, and after the trial was carried out, they expired. There were minor changes made from the first set of regulations for the trial in 2011 and the regulations for 2013. Both times, the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development adopted the regulations.
Further information:
OSCE/ODIHR: Final Report on Norwegian national elections of 9.9.2013, available at http://www.osce.org/odihr/elections/109517?download=true
The Carter Center: Expert Study Mission Report on Internet Voting Pilot: Norways 2013 Parliamentary Elections, available at http://www.regjeringen.no/upload/KRD/Kampanjer/valgportal/valgobservatorer/2013/Rapport_Cartersenteret2013.pdf
http://www.regjeringen.no/en/dep/kmd/prosjekter/e-vote-trial.html?id=597658
Switzerland (remote Internet voting)
Swiss work on e-voting began in the year 2000 with the launch of the project “vote électronique” (remote Internet voting). It started with a joint effort on the national as well as on the cantonal level. Three cantons developed their own remote Internet voting-systems. In 2011 a steering committee has additionally been established. It comprises decision-makers from cantons with e-voting as well as representatives from the federal administration and it is headed by the Federal Chancellor. The project is developed and carried out with a strong focus on coordination and cooperation between the various federal levels.
Since the year 2000 the project “vote électronique” has been developed carefully and consistently: Over 150 e-voting trials have been carried out at the federal level. In addition, numerous trials have been realised at cantonal and communal levels. Besides the three initial cantons (Geneva, Neuchâtel and Zurich), several other cantons joined the e-voting project to make e-voting available to their citizens living abroad. The tests concentrated on the use of e-voting in referendums and, later, also in parliamentary elections. Further steps, including the electronic signature of popular initiatives, referendum requests, and candidate proposals for parliamentary elections are still pending. The Federal Council has adopted three reports in which the e-voting project was presented and evaluated and in which proposals were made for the further development of the project.
The current legal basis for e-voting in Switzerland can be found in two Federal Acts (Federal Act on Political Rights of 17.12.1976 and Federal Act on Political Rights of the Swiss Abroad of 19.12.1975) adopted by Parliament and in two regulations. One (Ordinance on Political Rights of 24 Mai 1978) was adopted by the Federal Council (Government) and the other one (Federal Chancellery Ordinance on Electronic Voting of 15.1.2014) was issued by the Federal Chancellery.
For more information:
http://www.bk.admin.ch/themen/pore/evoting/index.html?lang=en
The Netherlands (voting machines)
For almost 20 years, electronic voting machines in polling places were being used on a large scale in elections in the Netherlands. In 2008 this was suspended after the group "Wij vertrouwen stemcomputers niet" ("We do not trust voting machines"; http://wijvertrouwenstemcomputersniet.nl/Wij_vertrouwen_stemcomputers_niet) showed on TV that the e-voting systems in use could, under certain circumstances, be manipulated and vote secrecy could not be guaranteed. Furthermore, an official commission found that the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations, which was responsible for organizing elections, was lacking in-house expertise, causing too much dependence on vendors and certification agencies (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/10/01/dutch_pull_plug_on_evoting/).
In 2013, a committee investigating the future of e-voting in the Netherlands was set up by the government. It came to the conclusion that the election process would benefit from using electronic means to count and preferably also cast votes. The government will look into the feasibility of the system proposed by the committee (consisting of a vote printer and a vote counter).
Two experiments that were conducted with remote Internet voting (in 2004 telephone voting was tested as well) for citizens living/staying abroad, were not followed up after the controversy about the use of electronic voting machines at polling stations. The first experiment took place during the European Parliamentary elections in 2004; the second experiment was conducted in 2006 during national parliamentary elections.
More information:
http://www.prodemos.nl/content/download/5147/25693/file/Electronic%20Voting%20in%20the%20Netherlands.pdf
http://www.e-voting.cc/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2014/10/evote2014_loeber_p43-46.pdf
USA (voting machines)
Various types of e-voting are in use in the United Sates, including DRE voting machines, optical scan systems and punch card voting systems. Following the 2000 presidential election, the US Congress passed the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA). The HAVA provided for modernising existing voting machines. Especially punch card voting systems (and the mechanical lever machines) should be replaced by DRE voting machines or optical scans. Since 2012, mainly two types of e-voting systems are in use: DRE and scans. While in the very beginning, most of the e-voting machines did not provide for a paper trail, this has been changed meanwhile. As of 2010, 40 states had moved towards requiring paper trails
More information:
http://votingmachines.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=000274
E-voting, country list update 2010
Legally binding electronic voting with voting machines:
Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, India, Japan, Kazakhstan, Peru, Russia, United States of America, United Arab Emirates, Venezuela
Legally binding internet voting:
Austria, Australia, Canada, Estonia, France, Japan, Switzerland
Planning, trials, non-legally binding e-voting:
Argentina, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Chile, Czech Republic, Finland, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Mexico, Nepal, Nigeria, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, South Korea, Sweden
E-voting projects stopped:
Germany, Ireland, The Netherlands, United Kingdom
Source:
http://e-voting.cc
http://e-voting.cc/files/e-voting-map-2010