Traditional voting systems have been developed to ensure that the principles required for democratic elections and referendums are met, namely the guarantee of the freedom to vote, the secrecy of the vote, the non modification of the expressed intention of the vote and lack of intimidation during the vote operation. It is essential that these principles are not undermined by the introduction of new voting methods and, accordingly, e-voting systems must be so designed and operated as to ensure the reliability and security of the voting process.
In sum:
E-voting has to be as free, secret, reliable and secure as voting systems that do not involve the use of electronic means.
An e-voting system therefore should consider the following minimum requirements:
- To ensure that only persons with the right to vote are able to cast a vote.
- To ensure that every vote cast is counted and that each vote is counted only once.
- To maintain the voter’s right to form and to express his or her opinion in a free manner, without any coercion or undue influence.
- To protect the secrecy of the vote at all stages of the voting process.
- To guarantee accessibility to as many voters as possible, especially with regard to persons with disabilities.
- To increase voter confidence by maximising the transparency of information on the functioning of each system.
Next: Auditing of e-voting systems
