Both supporters and opponents of e-voting offer arguments justifying which method is better suited for the electoral process. On the one hand, e-voting technology:
- Unauthorised intervention of third parties in the voting process. Given the current state of information technology, there is no guarantee, that a programme would not be manipulated to allow the storage and printing of a form or document different from the one appearing on the screen.
- More difficult to detect and identify the source of errors and technical malfunctions than with conventional procedures.
- Possibility that fully digitised system would fail to produce results and lack physical back-up records, making a public recount difficult or impossible.
Challenges of remote e-voting
In the context of remote e-voting, special attention should be given to the process guaranteeing a free and secret vote. Only entitled voters are allowed to cast a vote and this requires that every voter be authenticated (e.g. by using a PIN -Personal Identification Number or TAN -Transaction Number or by the use of digital signature) and their right to vote verified. In order to prevent multiple votes being cast or other misuse, a record must be made and checked in order to establish whether he or she has already cast a vote. With a remote electronic voting system, there must be an electronic separation between the vote and the identification of the voter.
Next: Countries with e-voting
