Internet voting has been used in national, European and local elections since 2005. An optional alternative to conventional paper voting, i-voting is available during a designated early voting period (from the tenth until the fourth day before Election Day). Voters can cast a ballot from any Internet-connected computer from any location in the world. From the election web page, voters first download a voting application and launch it in their own computers. Next they authenticate themselves using the Estonian ID-card or a mobile-ID, view the list of candidates running in their district, make their choice, encrypt it and confirm their vote with a digital signature. The entire process takes less than two minutes on average (Heiberg et al., 2015). Notably, voters can change their electronic votes an unlimited number of times during the early voting period, with each new vote annulling the previous ones. Voting at the polling station during the early voting period invalidates the ballot cast over the Internet. These provisions are in place in order to protect the secrecy of voting: a voter who was coerced or intimidated to vote a certain way can cast a new ballot and overwrite their previous vote. Until 2021, i-voters could not cast a ballot on Election Day, as their names were removed from the relevant voter lists. From 2021 on, i-voters can cast a paper ballot on Election Day, thereby invalidating their electronic vote.

1. Estonia 2005
the first practice of Internet voting
Epp Maaten
Councillor of the Elections Department
Chancellery of the Riigikogu
Strasbourg, 23 November 2006

2. Why Internet-voting?
• To provide additional channel for voting,
raising thereby voting activity
• To use the existing infrastructure more efficiently:
- eID cards enable secure online-authentication
- the use of digital channels is steadily widening
• Political agreement to introduce Internet voting:
- In 2002 the legislative basis was created

3. Voters’ authentication with
ID-cards
• Compulsory
for all residents
• Contains:
– Personal data file
– Certificate for authentication
– Certificate for digital signature

4. First Internet voting
• In October 2005 Estonia had the
first
pan-national
Internet Voting
with binding results
• 80% of voters had a chance to vote via Internet
• 1% of voters used that possibility

5. To vote via Internet voter needs:
• an Estonian ID card
with valid certificates
and PIN codes
Computer used for voting must have:
• a smart card reader
• a driver for ID card (free to download from page www.id.ee/installer)

6. Statistics
E-votes given 9681
incl repeated votes 364
incl e-votes cancelled by paper ballot 30
E-votes counted 9287
E-vote turnout (e-votes/votes) ~2 %
Advance votes among all votes 24 %
E-votes among advance votes 8 %
Voters using the ID card
electronically for the first time 61 %

7. Subjective reasons for not using e-voting
67,1
21,4
4,2
3,2
2,2
1,9
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
technological complexity,
no access
current system sufficient,
habits, simplicity
loss of traditions, human
contacts needed
lack of trust, doubts
other
absurd, useless,
impossible
%
of
respondents
A.H. Trechsel, F. Breuer, E-Voting in the 2005 local elections in Estonia,
http://www.ega.ee/public/Trechsel_17.02.2006.ppt

8. Subjective reasons for choosing e-voting
75,2
18,8
5,1
0,3
0,3
0,3
0 20 40 60 80
convenience:
spped/practical/simple
interest, w ish to try out
the new method
better accessibility for all
people
innovation; modernity
costs: less expensive,
saving of time
security can be
guaranteed
%
of
respondents
A.H. Trechsel, F. Breuer, E-Voting in the 2005 local elections in Estonia,
http://www.ega.ee/public/Trechsel_17.02.2006.ppt

9. Electronic re-vote and the priority of
traditional voting
 Repeated e-voting is allowed - only last e-ballot is
counted
 Manual re-voting is allowed - e-vote will be cancelled
Re-voting is allowed during advance voting period.

10. Decision of the Supreme Court of Estonia
on Internet voting
• The possibility to change one’s electronic vote is a
supplementary guarantee the freedom of elections
and secrecy of voting upon electronic voting.
• The possibility of electronic voters to change their
votes for unlimited number of times can be regarded
as the infringement of the right to equality and of
uniformity of election, but this infringement is not
sufficiently intensive to overweigh the aim of
increasing the participation in elections and intro-
ducing new technological solutions.

11. Conclusions
• Internet voting is just an additional way of voting.
It widens accessibility.
• It takes time to change voters’ habits and attitudes and
to increase the turnout.
• Internet voting brings people closer to the
information society.
• Integrated functioning of public sector IT systems
raises the cost-efficiency.
• Internet voting is there to stay.

12. Further information
Homepage of Estonian National Electoral Committee:
http://www.vvk.ee/engindex.html