March 04 2015, 16:00
Here are the 5 W’s of the latest Estonian i-voting experience
- What happened? The Estonian online voting platform was used for the eighth straight national election. This time, Estonians were electing their Rigiikogu (Parliament). 176,328 people i-voted. This represents an increase of 71% since last elections – May 2014- and 25% as compared to the previous Rigiikogy elections in 2011.
- When did it take place? Election Day was March 1. However, advance voting was available weeks before. 51% of the electorate decided to early vote. And 60% of those who voted early, did so using the modern online system –available from February 19 to 25. It is important to note that voters are allowed to change their electronic vote by voting again electronically during advance polls or by voting at a polling station. Only the last vote will be counted.
- Where did it take place? Although the vast majority of the votes cast –in-precinct and online- came from Estonia, the platform was also used by Estonians from 116 countries around the world.
- Who is involved? All Estonians were eligible to cast a ballot. For this occasion, among those supporting the online voting were political leaders and government officials, such as Toomas Hendrik Ilves, the President of the Republic of Estonia and Taavi Rõivas, the Prime Minister (watch Prime Minister’s i-voting video).
- Why is this information important? Because Estonia is setting a world record. With 8 national elections offering the chance to every voter to cast a ballot online, it is definitely the frontrunner of i-voting. And also, the lab that created the Estonian solution has partnered with Smartmatic to offer the system to every election commission in the world.
To read more about the elections, visit the site of the Estonian elections commission
Image courtesy of criminalatt / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
