Electronic voting in Estonia
Encyclopedia
The idea of having electronic voting
in Estonia
gained popularity in 2001 with the "e-minded" coalition government. Estonia became the first nation to hold legally binding general elections over the Internet with their pilot project for the municipal elections in 2005.
The electronic voting system withstood the test of reality and was declared a success by Estonian election officials.
The Estonian parliamentary election, 2007
also used internet voting, a second-world first.
s) and remote (as in over the Internet) electronic voting, in Estonia the term is used exclusively for remote Internet voting.
The security model is modeled after the way in which advance voting and postal voting
is handled.
. The card is a regular and mandatory national identity document
as well as a smart card
allowing for both secure remote authentication and legally binding digital signatures by using the Estonian state supported public key infrastructure
. As of March 2007 over 1.08 million cards have been issued (out of a population of about 1.32 million).
Internet voting is available during an early voting
period (sixth day to fourth day prior to Election Day
). Voters can change their electronic votes an unlimited number of times, with the final vote being tabulated. It is also possible for anyone who votes using the Internet to vote at a polling station
during the early voting period, invalidating their Internet vote. It is not possible to change or annul the electronic vote on the Election Day.
The principle of "one person, one vote" is sustained as the voter can potentially cast more than one ballot but still only a single vote. This was challenged in August 2005 by Arnold Rüütel
, the President of Estonia
, who saw the new e-voting provisions in the Local Government Council Election Act as a breach of the principle of equality of voting. The President brought a petition
against the e-voting provisions to Estonian Supreme Court
but lost.
Main statistics (source: "Internet Voting at the Elections of Local Government Councils on October 2005. Report." http://www.vvk.ee/index.php?id=11178 http://www.vvk.ee/public/dok/report2006.pdf Table 11, p 27)
Electronic voting
Electronic voting is a term encompassing several different types of voting, embracing both electronic means of casting a vote and electronic means of counting votes....
in Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
gained popularity in 2001 with the "e-minded" coalition government. Estonia became the first nation to hold legally binding general elections over the Internet with their pilot project for the municipal elections in 2005.
The electronic voting system withstood the test of reality and was declared a success by Estonian election officials.
The Estonian parliamentary election, 2007
Estonian parliamentary election, 2007
Parliamentary elections took place in Estonia on Sunday, March 4, 2007 to elect members of the Riigikogu. The electoral system was a two-tier semi-open list proportional representation system with a 5% election threshold...
also used internet voting, a second-world first.
Internet voting
Although the term electronic voting (or e-voting) can refer to both fixed voting locations (as in voting boothVoting booth
A voting booth or polling booth is a room or cabin in a polling station where voters are able to cast their vote in private to protect the secrecy of the ballot. Commonly the entrance to the voting booth is a retractable curtain...
s) and remote (as in over the Internet) electronic voting, in Estonia the term is used exclusively for remote Internet voting.
The security model is modeled after the way in which advance voting and postal voting
Postal voting
Postal voting describes the method of voting in an election whereby ballot papers are distributed or returned by post to electors, in contrast to electors voting in person at a polling station or electronically via an electronic voting system....
is handled.
Overview of Estonian Internet voting
The Estonian internet voting system builds on the Estonian ID cardEstonian ID card
The Estonian identity card is a chipped picture ID issued in the Republic of Estonia by the Citizenship and Migration Board of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. It is officially a primary-picture ID in Estonia, and is therefore recognised by all member states of the European Union or the Schengen...
. The card is a regular and mandatory national identity document
Identity document
An identity document is any document which may be used to verify aspects of a person's personal identity. If issued in the form of a small, mostly standard-sized card, it is usually called an identity card...
as well as a smart card
Smart card
A smart card, chip card, or integrated circuit card , is any pocket-sized card with embedded integrated circuits. A smart card or microprocessor cards contain volatile memory and microprocessor components. The card is made of plastic, generally polyvinyl chloride, but sometimes acrylonitrile...
allowing for both secure remote authentication and legally binding digital signatures by using the Estonian state supported public key infrastructure
Public key infrastructure
Public Key Infrastructure is a set of hardware, software, people, policies, and procedures needed to create, manage, distribute, use, store, and revoke digital certificates. In cryptography, a PKI is an arrangement that binds public keys with respective user identities by means of a certificate...
. As of March 2007 over 1.08 million cards have been issued (out of a population of about 1.32 million).
Internet voting is available during an early voting
Early voting
Early voting is the process by which electors can vote on a single or series of days prior to an election. Early voting can take place remotely, such as by mail, or in person, usually in designated early voting polling stations. The availability and time periods for early voting vary based on...
period (sixth day to fourth day prior to Election Day
Election Day (politics)
Election Day refers to the day when general elections are held. In many countries, general elections are always held on a Sunday, to enable as many voters as possible to participate, while in other countries elections are always held on a weekday...
). Voters can change their electronic votes an unlimited number of times, with the final vote being tabulated. It is also possible for anyone who votes using the Internet to vote at a polling station
Polling station
A polling place or polling station is where voters cast their ballots in elections.Since elections generally take place over a one- or two-day span on a periodic basis, often annual or longer, polling places are often located in facilities used for other purposes, such as schools, churches, sports...
during the early voting period, invalidating their Internet vote. It is not possible to change or annul the electronic vote on the Election Day.
The principle of "one person, one vote" is sustained as the voter can potentially cast more than one ballot but still only a single vote. This was challenged in August 2005 by Arnold Rüütel
Arnold Rüütel
Arnold Rüütel OIH was the third President of the Republic of Estonia from October 8, 2001 to October 9, 2006. He was the second President since Estonia regained its independence in 1991....
, the President of Estonia
President of Estonia
The President of the Republic is the head of state of the Republic of Estonia.Estonia is a parliamentary republic, therefore President is mainly a symbolic figure and holds no executive power. The President has to suspend his membership in any political party for his term in office...
, who saw the new e-voting provisions in the Local Government Council Election Act as a breach of the principle of equality of voting. The President brought a petition
Petition
A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer....
against the e-voting provisions to Estonian Supreme Court
Supreme court
A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of many legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, instance court, judgment court, high court, or apex court...
but lost.
2009 Elections
In the 2009 local municipal elections, 104,415 people voted over the Internet. This means that roughly 9,5% of the persons with the right to vote gave their vote over the Internet.2007 Elections
In 2007 Estonia held its and the world's first general elections with Internet voting available from February 26 to 28. A total of 30,275 citizens used Internet voting, which means for every 30 eligible voters one of them voted through the Internet.2005 Elections
In 2005 Estonia became the first country to offer Internet voting nationally in local elections. 9,317 people voted online.Outcome and results
See the material on the homepage of the Estonian National Electoral Committee: http://www.vvk.ee/index.php?id=11509Main statistics (source: "Internet Voting at the Elections of Local Government Councils on October 2005. Report." http://www.vvk.ee/index.php?id=11178 http://www.vvk.ee/public/dok/report2006.pdf Table 11, p 27)
Number of persons with the right to vote: 1,059,292
Votes: 502,504
- valid (with e-votes) 496,336
- invalid 6,168
Voter turnout: 47%
E-votes given: 9,681
- incl. repeated e-votes 364
Number of e-voters: 9,317
E-votes counted: 9,287
E-votes cancelled: 30
Percentage of e-votes among all votes: 1.85%
Percentage of e-votes among votes of advance polls: 8%
Number of e-voters who used ID card electronically for the first time: 5,774
Percentage of e-voters who used ID card electronically for the first time: 61%
External links for further reading
- Internet Voting in Estonia: Statistics and Methodology
- E-Voting in the 2005 local elections in Estonia by Fabian Breuer and Alexander H. Trechsel, European University Institute, Report for the Council of EuropeCouncil of EuropeThe Council of Europe is an international organisation promoting co-operation between all countries of Europe in the areas of legal standards, human rights, democratic development, the rule of law and cultural co-operation...
- E-Voting Uses in Elections in Estonia Entry on Estonia in the International E-Voting Database hosted by E-Voting.CC
- Practical Security Analysis of E-voting Systems by Triinu Mägi, a master thesis studying the security of the Estonian e-voting system and Secure Electronic Registration and Voting ExperimentSecure Electronic Registration and Voting ExperimentSecure Electronic Registration and Voting Experiment was an experiment by the Pentagon to allow military personnel to vote in elections in the United States via the Internet.-External links:* * , Navy Times, April 16, 2008...
(SERVE) - E-Voting Conference: Lessons learnt and future challenges Agenda and presentations of the Oct 2006 Tallinn conference, hosted by the e-Governance Academy (an Estonian e-governance and e-democracy NGO, organiser of the event)
- 2nd International Workshop on Electronic Voting 2006 in Bregenz, Austria.
- An interview on YouTube about the trust-aspect of i-voting in Estonia with Thad Hall from the University of UtahUniversity of UtahThe University of Utah, also known as the U or the U of U, is a public, coeducational research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The university was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret by the General Assembly of the provisional State of Deseret, making it Utah's oldest...
who was observing the elections in Estonia. Skip to 01:30 for the actual interview. - "Online Voting Clicks in Estonia" An article in Wired NewsWired NewsWired News is an online technology news website, formerly known as HotWired, that split off from Wired magazine when the magazine was purchased by Condé Nast Publishing in the 1990s. Wired News was owned by Lycos not long after the split, until Condé Nast purchased Wired News on July 11, 2006...
on e-voting in Estonia that is also mentioned at the beginning of the interview with Thad Hall.