Electronic
voting—‘e-voting’—is the option of using electronic means to vote in
referendums and elections. Different systems exist, such as direct recording
electronic (DRE) voting machines that record the vote directly without that
vote being transmitted over the Internet or another network: for example, the
interface of a DRE machine can be a touch screen, or the voter can fill out the
ballot paper and then scan it into the system. Most commonly, e-voting refers
to voting over the Internet using a personal computer (PC) with an Internet
connection. There are also other means, such as personal digital assistants
(PDAs), telephones or mobile phones, that could be used to cast a vote
electronically.
It is
useful to distinguish between two concepts of e-voting: ‘polling place
e-voting’, and ‘remote e-voting’. ‘Polling place e-voting’ refers to systems
where a voter casts his or her vote inside a polling station or similar
premises controlled by electoral staff; ‘remote e-voting’ is used to describe
those systems where a voter casts his or her vote at any place outside the
polling station. Both could be relevant for the purposes of this topic area.
There are different ways in which electronic means can be used to facilitate
external voting. The most challenging would be to allow voters who are abroad
to transmit a vote using electronic means, for example, casting a vote at a PC
and transmitting it to the electronic ballot box over the Internet. E-voting
could also be carried out in the supervised environment of a diplomatic or
consular mission. However, in the course of the research for this paper, no
instances of the latter solution being considered were found. Only remote
e-voting seems to be an option for external voting.
This survey
is based on some examples of what is being done in the field of e-voting and
external voting, collected by the Swiss Federal Chancellery. The research is by
no means comprehensive and does not take into account each and every country
that is practising e-voting or thinking of introducing it. Nor does this
section look into the discussion about pros and cons of e-voting in general.
There are
very few overviews of e-voting projects worldwide. An overview dating from the
summer of 2004 is available here; see also Buchsbaum 2005.
