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:
- It can install a process to enable people with disabilities to vote by themselves, easily and in secrecy.
- E-voting via Internet encourages more voters to cast their vote remotely and increases the likelihood of higher voter turnout for a mobile electorate.
- E-voting via Internet allows voters to cast their vote in an electoral district other than the one where they are registered and facilitates the polling process for citizens formerly voting by mail.
- Over time it reduces the overall cost to operate and manage the election process.
- Contributes to a faster vote counting and delivery of the final election results.
Potential risks in e-voting
- 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
