Not to electronic voting": why is electronic voting successful in some countries and fails in others? (original) (raw)
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EIIC 2014. The 3rd Electronic International Interdisciplinary Conference, Proceedings in Electronic International Interdisciplinary Conference, eds. M. Mokrys, S. Badura, A. Lieskovsky, EDIS – Publishing Institution of the University of Zilina, Slovakia, ss. 311-315, ISSN 978-80-554-0921-4., 2014
Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) constitute a crucial element of globalisation and computerization processes. ICT are not exclusively present in the economy, entertainment, trade or banking, but they are also used in politics or social area. Public institutions employ ICT (particularly the Internet) for informational and educational purposes as well as for improving the efficiency of state institutions and bodies. With the availability of new (apart from traditional) forms of participation, such as e.g. electronic community consultations, electronic people's initiatives, participatory budgeting, e-voting, the citizens are offered the possibility to increase their activity on the political scene and their real influence on the decision-making process. It’s due to the fact that modern technologies can improve the interactions occurring between voters and political institutions, political parties, or politicians. One of such interaction is the process of voting, which in some countries is supported by ICT (e-voting). This article aims primarily at providing answers for questions: about the most important problems connected with introduction of this more and more popular way of civic participation in politics and with the use of e-voting in general elections, as well as about the most crucial and most frequent uncertainties that e-voting implies.
11.A Review of the Underlying Concepts of Electronic Voting
Elections and voting are fundamental to any consensus-based society. They are one of the most critical functions of democracy. There are a number of voting systems adopted all over the world with each of them having its peculiar problems. The manual voting system still appears prominent among the developed and developing nations, but with considerations being given to an electronic alternative with a view to showing most of the short comings. Furthermore, with the increased interest and attention on e-government, e-democracy and e-governance, e-voting initiatives have gained more significance. Thus, many countries are piloting with various e-voting models and systems in order to enable voting from anywhere; also, international organisations are developing standards and recommendations in this area. This paper details a review of the underlying concepts of e-voting and discusses some of the salient issues on the subject. Also, a review of common e-voting models, existing elections schemes and explanation of the usual terminologies associated with e-voting were presented.
The application of internet in electoral procedures: a theoretical perspective. The case of e-voting
From the 1970s, the world has been undergoing the so-called “digital revolution” generally understood as the change from the me chanical and electronic technologies to the high tech, digital ones. The role of ICT has so gained in importance that some theoreticians of democracy speak of the necessity of paradigm changing as regards both the understanding of a democratic system and introdu-cing the notion of electronic democracy (e-democracy). The aim of this text is analyzing the electronic voting (e-voting) as one of important forms of electronic democracy. The article attempts at approaching several research questions. First, what is the impact of ICT on voting procedures? Secondly, what is the essence of electronic voting and what are its main features? Finally, what are the advantages and fears related to e-voting systems? This paper gives a theoretical overview of the electronic democracy and electronic voting, and demonstrates their essence, characteristics, goals. The author tries to present and critically assess the main drawbacks and problems of the existing e-voting systems. The theoretical considerations framework is based mainly on the concept of electronic democracy created by Martin Hagen. With reference to electronic voting, the author of this article uses definitions as given either by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, or the Competence Center for Electronic Voting and Participation. She also uses definitions constructed by Andrzej Kaczmarczyk, an e-voting expert.
The use of e-voting as a new tool of e-participation in modern democracies
Finding the answer to the question of the role of electronic voting in a modern country constitutes an important part of researches into electronic democracy. The recent dynamic development of information and communication technologies (ICT) and mass media have been leading to noticeable changes in functioning of contemporary countries and societies. ICT is beginning to play a greater and greater role and filter down to almost every field of contemporary human life -including politics. Electronic voting represents one of the more and more popular forms of so called e-democracy, and is an interesting research subject in the context of mechanisms for implementing this form of participation in elections, its legitimization, specific technological solutions for e-voting and their effectiveness as well as unintended consequences. The main subject of this text is the use of electronic voting (e-voting) as one of the forms of electronic democracy. The article attempts to answer the following research questions: First, what is the impact of ICT on the political processes -particularly on the voting procedures? Secondly, what is the essence of electronic voting and what are its main features? Finally, what are the e-voting experiences in the European countries?
Implementation of electronic voting and the matter of security
Electronic voting (as well as computer-aided voting) is an interesting subject for many countries around the world. The idea to implement e-voting into elections and referenda is widely discussed not only by members of parliaments and governments throughout the world but also by regular voters, IT specialists, engineers or people who work in organisations/associations supporting application of ICT in government. This idea is strengthened by the fact, that e-voting is successfully applied in Estonia and Switzerland for several years. However, in some European states (e.g. in the Netherlands, Norway and Austria) the attempts to implement that form of participation in elections fell out to be unsuccessful. This article aims at providing an answer to the question about the matters of security during implementation of electronic voting systems, which are more and more popular as an additional form of voting during elections or referenda. The theoretical context of the considerations is based on the concepts of electronic democracy (as a new paradigm of democratic power in contemporary states) and voting supported by ICT (understood as the essential tool for e-democracy). Apart from theoretical considerations on the e-voting itself, this text includes references to the most important motives that accompany e-voting implementation and then it delivers arguments on various aspects of security within the e-voting system.
Putting Electronic Voting under the Microscope
The Political Quarterly, 2014
Electronic voting entered the political arena some years ago, with some countries advocating its use, some countries trialling and then abandoning it and yet others preferring to preserve the status quo of paper-and-pencil voting within a voting booth. In this paper we present the pros and cons of electronic voting and propose a set of characteristics we think electronic voting systems should exhibit. We then briefly review some pertinent concerns, issues and worries. We conclude by introducing the Handivote system, an electronic voting system that supports voting by means of SMS messaging, and explain how it measures up in terms of our own specified characteristics.
Electronic Elections in a Politicized Polity
2010
Since the 2000 presidential elections, the evolution of electronic technologies in American elections-from voting machines to computerized voter registries-has occurred within the context of a highly partisan, polarized, and politicized environment. The decision about the type of voting systems to use within a given state has become especially political and these debates have affected the confidence and attitudes of voters toward various voting technologies. In the Netherlands, the debate even led to abolishing the use of all electronic technologies in elections. In this paper, we consider the evolution of voter confidence over this period and the evolution of the political debate that relates to electronic voting. We note that confidence in voting systems is affected by several factors, including race, partisanship, voting for a winning candidate, and the mode of voting (i.e., voting in person or voting via absentee ballot). During this time, certain factors, such as partisanship, have changed in importance based on previous election outcomes. On the issue of the importance of partisanship on confidence, we compare the United States and the Netherlands and the evaluation of electronic voting.