Internet Voting in Estonia

Abstract

Estonia was the first country in the world to introduce Internet Voting pan-nationally in binding elections in 2005. Although Internet Voting is only one of many ways of voting in Estonia, the number of voters has grown exponentially. The short paper explores the topic of Internet Voting based on the six-year experience of the pioneer country Estonia. The factors of success in the process include for example the relative small size of the country and the positive experiences with previous government e-services. The role of a secure online authentication token — ID-card — would also be crucial in implementing the idea of remote voting in an uncontrolled environment.

Voter’s right to change the I-vote with another I-vote or with paper-ballot and the supremacy of the paper ballot serve as main strongholds against vote buying and other infringements of the principle of free elections.

Possible future developments and expansion of technical platforms will be addressed.