Non-Technical Risks of Remote Electronic Voting

Abstract

A few years ago, remote electronic voting seemed like a good idea for the near future. Globally, voting turnout figures are dropping dramatically (Electoral Commission, 2002) and politicians are therefore trying to find ways to increase civic participation. One solution is to make the voting process more convenient by giving voters the opportunity to submit their governmental election ballots over the Internet from home or work, or through their mobile phones using SMS. In this way, people will not have to leave the comfort of their homes or their work routines to have their voices heard. What a great boost this would be for our Western democracy! Citizens who live overseas, housebound people, or business travellers, everybody could use a computer to cast a ballot online. However, we will argue in this article that for several reasons remote electronic voting does pose a real challenge for e-government and might not necessarily be the best way forward.