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1. Running​ ​head:ADVANTAGES​ ​AND​ ​DISADVANTAGES​ ​OF​ ​E-VOTING 1
Advantages​ ​and​ ​Disadvantages​ ​of​ ​e-Voting
A​ ​Case​ ​Study​ ​of​ ​Estonia
Nabil​ ​Khairul​ ​Anwar
Nanyang​ ​Technological​ ​University
Author’s​ ​note:​ ​This​ ​paper​ ​is​ ​submitted​ ​in​ ​partial​ ​fulfillment​ ​of​ ​the​ ​requirements​ ​for​ ​HA2009
The​ ​Making​ ​of​ ​E-Government.

2. ADVANTAGES​ ​AND​ ​DISADVANTAGES​ ​OF​ ​E-VOTING 2
Q6.​ ​The​ ​advantages​ ​of​ ​electronic​ ​voting​ ​outweigh​ ​the​ ​disadvantages.​ ​To​ ​what​ ​extent​ ​do​ ​you
agree​ ​with​ ​this​ ​statement?
Introduction
Electronic voting or e-voting is defined as ‘an election system that allows a voter to
record his or her secure and secret ballot electronically’ (Rouse, 2011). This essay explores the
various advantages and disadvantages of e-voting using Estonia as a case study. It was found that
the advantages of e-voting include reduced costs and greater convenience which in turn boosted
political participation and voter turnout. It was also identified that security risks and a digital
divide amongst citizens are some of the downsides to the adoption and implementation of
e-voting. The statement posed in the question suggests that the advantages of e-voting outweighs
its disadvantages. While it may be overly superficial to assess the viability of e-voting simply by
weighing the pros and cons, the essay concludes that in the case of Estonia, the statement in the
question​ ​indeed​ ​holds​ ​true.
Background​ ​Information
The Republic of Estonia is a small nation-state situated in Northern Europe with a
population of about 1.4 million inhabitants. It was an independent republic between 1919 and
1940 before becoming a part of the Soviet Union (Estonian Socialist Soviet Republic). Estonia
regained independence in 1991 as a parliamentary democracy with a President, Prime Minister
and a 101-seat unicameral Parliament, the ​Riigikogu (Dreschler & Madise, 2002). It is important
to note that given its political history, democracy as a political ideology is fairly new in Estonia.
Despite this, Estonia has grown to be a global leader in the sphere of e-government and is used
as​ ​a​ ​benchmark​ ​for​ ​many​ ​of​ ​the​ ​world’s​ ​developed​ ​and​ ​developing​ ​countries.

3. ADVANTAGES​ ​AND​ ​DISADVANTAGES​ ​OF​ ​E-VOTING 3
As part of a pilot project in 2005, Estonia became the first country in the world to adopt
and implement e-voting through the use of the Internet for its local elections. The success of the
2005 elections subsequently led to the inaugural use of internet voting in the 2007 Estonian
parliamentary elections. It became the world’s first parliamentary elections where Internet
e-voting was used (Reinsalu, 2008). Thus, as a pioneer in internet e-voting, Estonia was chosen
as​ ​a​ ​case​ ​study​ ​for​ ​this​ ​essay.
Discussion
Estonian​ ​e-Voting​ ​Procedure
Figure​ ​1.​​ ​Architecture​ ​of​ ​the​ ​Estonian​ ​Internet​ ​election​ ​system​ ​(Schryen​ ​&​ ​Rich,​ ​2009,​ ​p.​ ​732).
The Estonian citizen ID card contains personal data and a private key on an embedded
chip which provides identification for voting (Scryen & Rich 2009). Tsahkna (2013, p.61)
detailed​ ​the​ ​e-voting​ ​procedure​ ​as​ ​follows:
1. Voters​ ​insert​ ​their​ ​ID​ ​card​ ​into​ ​a​ ​card​ ​reader​ ​and​ ​open​ ​the​ ​webpage​ ​for​ ​voting.
2. They​ ​then​ ​verify​ ​who​ ​they​ ​are​ ​by​ ​using​ ​the​ ​first​ ​pin​ ​code​ ​of​ ​their​ ​ID​ ​card.

4. ADVANTAGES​ ​AND​ ​DISADVANTAGES​ ​OF​ ​E-VOTING 4
3. The​ ​server​ ​checks​ ​whether​ ​voters​ ​are​ ​eligible,​ ​using​ ​data​ ​from​ ​the​ ​population​ ​register.
4. Voters​ ​are​ ​shown​ ​the​ ​candidate​ ​list​ ​for​ ​the​ ​appropriate​ ​electoral​ ​district.
5. They​ ​make​ ​their​ ​voting​ ​decision,​ ​which​ ​is​ ​encrypted.
6. Then they confirm their choice with a digital signature by entering the second pin code of
their​ ​ID​ ​card.
7. At the vote count the digital signatures are removed, and in the final stage, the members
of the Estonian National Electoral Committee can open the anonymous e-votes for
counting.
Advantages
Reduced​ ​costs​ ​and​ ​greater​ ​convenience
E-voting provides greater convenience for voters as they are able to vote from any
Internet-connected computer, at any time, without going down to a polling station. As a result,
both real and opportunity costs of voting are significantly reduced. In the case of Estonia, casting
an e-vote online takes 6 minutes compared to 44 minutes for a vote casted in person (Kalvet et.
al, 2013). This is crucial as the time-saving effect becomes more significant the higher this cost
is for an individual voter (Trechsel & Vassil, 2011). In addition, it also ​reduces the logistical and
financial costs needed to operate polling stations. As pointed out by Tsahkna (2013), e-voting in
the​ ​2011​ ​parliamentary​ ​elections​ ​saved​ ​1500​ ​man​ ​days​ ​for​ ​polling​ ​stations.

5. ADVANTAGES​ ​AND​ ​DISADVANTAGES​ ​OF​ ​E-VOTING 5
Increased​ ​political​ ​participation​ ​and​ ​turnout
Table​ ​1.​​ ​General​ ​statistics​ ​for​ ​elections​ ​(Tsahkna,​ ​2013,​ ​p.​ ​64).
Moreover, the implementation of e-voting in Estonia saw an increase in voter turnout. As
seen in Table 1 above, voter turnout increased from 47.4% in the 2005 local elections to 63.5%
in the 2011 parliamentary elections, a 16.1% jump. ​This is not surprising given that e-voting
makes it more accessible and convenient for citizens to vote. In particular, three groups of voters
benefitted greatly; citizens who live abroad, citizens who live in rural areas far from polling
stations as well as disabled citizens with mobility impairments. Given that voting is not
compulsory in Estonia, the relative ease and convenience afforded by e-voting may encourage
more​ ​citizens​ ​to​ ​participate​ ​politically​ ​by​ ​exercising​ ​their​ ​vote.
Disadvantages
Security​ ​risks
The main disadvantage posed by e-voting would be the security risks that can potentially
undermine the election process. In addition to human error, internet e-voting is susceptible to a
range of threats such as hacking by domestic and foreign saboteurs, technical glitches, voter

6. ADVANTAGES​ ​AND​ ​DISADVANTAGES​ ​OF​ ​E-VOTING 6
impersonation and even system failure. The 2007 Estonian cyberattacks which crippled the
country’s IT infrastructure is a notable reminder of the Internet’s fallibility. However, many have
argued that the security concerns surrounding e-voting are overestimated and exaggerated. Unt,
Solvak & Vassil (2007) pointed out that the technology behind e-voting is similar to the one
being used in online transactions such as those with banks and governments. However, there
exists​ ​a​ ​psychological​ ​bias​ ​against​ ​internet​ ​e-voting​ ​when​ ​it​ ​comes​ ​to​ ​trust.
The Estonian government has invested considerable resources in coming up with
innovative strategies to counter such security risks. A concern often raised with voting through
the Internet is the possibility of the vote being changed either by a virus on the voter’s computer
or as it gets transmitted to the government central servers. Estonia addressed this concern by
coming up with a novel way of using smartphones to verify the vote made. A voter can use his or
her smartphone and connect to the electoral servers separately to see how the vote was recorded
and thus verify if it is correct. The results are encrypted and are made anonymous to government
officials who can only view individual voting choices and national totals. The use of two
separate devices for vote casting (desktop computer/laptop) and vote checking (mobile phones)
makes it almost impossible for hackers to compromise both devices. In addition, any attempts at
manipulating the e-voting system will most likely leave an electronic trail, prompting election
officials to assess security breaches and decide on the most appropriate remedy. As mentioned
previously, e-voting does not replace the traditional paper ballot. Hence, if a serious security
breach occurs, voters can fall back on traditional voting and vote via paper ballot at the nearest
polling​ ​station.

7. ADVANTAGES​ ​AND​ ​DISADVANTAGES​ ​OF​ ​E-VOTING 7
It must also be noted that no voting system in the world is perfect and completely free
from the threat of being compromised. As for the case of traditional paper voting, threats such as
intimidation,​ ​vote​ ​buying​ ​and​ ​ballot​ ​stuffing​ ​continues​ ​to​ ​be​ ​a​ ​challenge​ ​up​ ​till​ ​today.
Digital​ ​divide
Internet e-voting also carries the threat of polarising a greater digital divide amongst
citizens. Generally, existing literature on e-voting seems to support the notion that it leads to a
greater digital divide between those from the higher and lower socioeconomic classes (Bochsler,
2010)​ ​and​ ​also​ ​between​ ​the​ ​younger​ ​and​ ​older​ ​generation.
Figure​ ​2.​​ ​E-voters​ ​by​ ​age​ ​(Tsahkna,​ ​2013,​ ​p.​ ​65).
Despite this, statistics highlighted by ​Leetaru (2017) showed that almost a quarter of
e-votes casted through internet voting in recent Estonian elections were casted by those who are
above the age of 55. Another 20% of e-votes were casted by those who belonged to the 45-54

8. ADVANTAGES​ ​AND​ ​DISADVANTAGES​ ​OF​ ​E-VOTING 8
age range. Hence it can be seen, for the case of Estonia at least, that internet e-voting enjoys
broad support and participation not only from the presumably tech-savvy younger generation but
also from the seniors. It was also observed that those who lived far from polling stations voted at
higher levels with internet e-voting now available (Bochsler, 2010). Internet e-voting in Estonia
is meant to supplement and not replace the traditional paper ballot. Estonian citizens who do not
wish to, or are unable to vote online, can still vote through the conventional method at a nearby
polling​ ​station.
Furthermore, t​he Estonian government and private sector have taken proactive steps to
mitigate the digital divide present in the country. This is done by forging strong public-private
partnerships with the goal of advancing the digital literacy skills of Estonian citizens and
increasing the internet penetration rate. An example of this would be the ‘Look@World’ project
which aimed to raise digital awareness and promote the use of the Internet and Information and
Communication Technologies (ICT). Amongst its initiatives was a project which provided free
computer training to 102 697 participants or roughly 10% of the adult population in Estonia. The
public school system also inculcated ICT usage into its syllabus with students learning computer
programming at the age of 7. As of July 2016, 91.4% of Estonians use the Internet, a huge jump
from​ ​2000​ ​when​ ​only​ ​28.6%​ ​was​ ​connected​ ​(Roonemaa,​ ​2017).

9. ADVANTAGES​ ​AND​ ​DISADVANTAGES​ ​OF​ ​E-VOTING 9
Conclusion
In conclusion, it can be seen that for Estonia, the adoption and implementation of internet
e-voting has brought about numerous advantages. This include reducing real and opportunity
costs for voters and providing them with greater convenience which have in turn boosted
political participation and voter turnout. This essay also acknowledged the disadvantages posed
by internet e-voting such as potential security risks and the ​threat of polarising a greater digital
divide amongst citizens. However, as discussed above, the Estonian government has invested
considerable​ ​resources​ ​in​ ​mitigating​ ​these​ ​disadvantages​ ​which​ ​have​ ​thus​ ​far​ ​been​ ​effective.
It needs to be appreciated that the success of internet e-voting in Estonia is largely due to
the favourable socio-political circumstances that exist in the country. The strong political
motivation shown by the Estonian government in transforming Estonia into a global leader for
e-governance has contributed to its success. In addition, this is further bolstered by the
involvement of the private sector in boosting the IT infrastructure of the country. Most
importantly, the active participation and trust of citizens in internet e-voting has allowed for
Estonia​ ​to​ ​become​ ​a​ ​global​ ​leader​ ​in​ ​e-voting​ ​and​ ​e-governance.

10. ADVANTAGES​ ​AND​ ​DISADVANTAGES​ ​OF​ ​E-VOTING 10
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