Risk assessment and feasibility study on alternative forms of voting in post-war elections in Ukraine, with a focus on internet voting

Together with Véronique Cortier, Oksana Kulyk, Armin Rabitsch, Volodymyr Venher, and the contribution of Olivier Pereira we prepared this risk assessment and feasibility study. Many thanks to Régis Dandoy for the information he provided on Ecuador.

The Russian Federation’s war of aggression against Ukraine has caused profound and unprecedented consequences for Ukraine and Ukrainian people, including challenges to democratic processes and participation. Millions of Ukrainians have been forced to flee their homes, seeking safety, protection and assistance either within Ukraine or in neighbouring countries. In this context, Ukrainian authorities are exploring ways and means to ensure the electoral rights of Ukrainian voters, including internally displaced persons and forced migrants abroad, in a post-war period. Among the options under consideration are alternative forms of voting, including internet voting.

This study assesses the risks associated with piloting and introducing internet voting in post-war elections in Ukraine from legal, organisational and technical perspectives. It also examines the feasibility of other alternative voting methods, such as postal voting. The analysis draws on legal and factual assessment of Ukraine’s current situation, international legal standards, and the Council of Europe recommendations. Additionally, it incorporates current scientific and technical expertise, as well as the experiences of countries like Estonia, Switzerland, France and Australia in the introduction and use of internet voting.

The study aims to contribute to ongoing discussions, particularly regarding internet voting, among Ukrainian electoral stakeholders, and highlights necessary modifications in legal framework and practice when taking a decision on internet voting. It will also be of interest to legislators and election management bodies in other countries contemplating the introduction of internet voting.

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Regulating the use of ICT in elections: The contribution of the Council of Europe

Contribution by A. Driza Maurer published in Cuadernos de Derecho Electoral, Número 2 (2024) / 239-254

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Council of Europe Guidelines on the Use of ICT in Electoral Processes

Together with Melanie Volkamer and Robert Krimmer we published this paper on the 2022 Guidelines on the use of ICT in electoral processes which the Council of Europe. The paper describes the development process and the considered input. It also provides a summary of the content and explains those concepts that are new or different compared to previous or related guidelines. Finally the limitations and future improvements are discussed.

Driza Maurer, A., Volkamer, M., Krimmer, R. (2023). Council of Europe Guidelines on the Use of ICT in Electoral Processes. In: Katsikas, S., et al. Computer Security. ESORICS 2022 International Workshops. ESORICS 2022. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 13785. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-25460-4_34

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The future of voting

The Institute of European Democrats (IED), a Brussels-based independent Research Institute, has published the outcome of an external research project titled “The Future of democracy in the European Context”.  It features four papers which look at very different aspects of democracy.

My contribution is about the future of voting, namely how to approach a possible digital future while making sure it complies with the principles of free and democratic elections. It can be downloaded here.

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Use of innovative technologies in the electoral process in Armenia

Together with Justin Nettmann and Rafik Grigoryan we presented this paper to the 2021 E-Vote-ID Conference. We were honoured to receive the Best Paper Award in the Elections and Practical Experiences track.

The paper was prepared with permission from UNDP following the Feasibility Study on Innovative Technologies for Electoral Processes in Armenia, produced in the framework of “Electoral Support Project in Armenia” funded by the Government of Japan and implemented by UNDP. The authors of this paper are the main authors of the feasibility study. The views expressed in the paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of UNDP.

Here you find the paper and here is the link to the proceedings of the E-Vote-ID conference.

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Contribution à la consultation concernant la révision partielle de l’ODP et la révision totale de l’OVotE

La consultation concernant la révision partielle de l’ordonnance sur les droits politiques (ODP) et la révision totale de l’Ordonnance de la Chancellerie fédérale sur le vote électronique (OVotE) vient de se terminer. L’invitation à contribuer était étendue aux milieux de la recherche. Ci-dessous, ma contribution. Elle se limite à soulever des questions et à formuler des suggestions. La conformité constitutionnelle du projet mériterait une évaluation plus approfondie.

Introduction

D’un point de vue juridique, le canal de vote électronique par internet (VE) – en tant que canal complémentaire de vote – a comme objectif principal la mise en œuvre optimale des exigences découlant des principes constitutionnels régissant l’expression du vote : suffrage universel, égal, libre, secret et direct, inclus dans le concept plus large de liberté de vote (article 34 al. 2 Cst). D’autres principes constitutionnels, tels que l’organisation fédéraliste des droits politiques, l’état de droit et ses éléments, en particulier la légalité, relèvent également des principes applicables. Les exigences découlant des principes constitutionnels sont autant d’objectifs à atteindre et de limites à respecter par le VE.

Dans les lignes qui suivent nous interrogeons la conformité avec les principes supérieurs de certains aspects du VE, proposés dans le projet. Nous nous limitons à soulever des questions et à formuler des suggestions. La conformité constitutionnelle du projet mérite, à notre avis, une évaluation plus approfondie. L’examen juridique devrait, par ailleurs, précéder et guider le développement technique.

Caractère expérimental de la réglementation proposée ?

L’objectif du Conseil fédéral (CF) est de permettre aux cantons de reprendre des essais limités de VE sur de nouvelles bases, comprenant des exigences de sécurité plus précises, des règles de transparence plus rigoureuses, une collaboration plus étroite avec des experts indépendants et un contrôle efficace effectué sur mandat de la Confédération (rapport, chiffre 2.1). L’amélioration de la réglementation des essais, le renforcement de la sécurité et la collaboration avec la recherche sont à saluer.

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Interview

A few weeks ago I talked to electis.io about i-voting development in Switzerland. Thanks to Gilles and Franck for the interesting questions. Here is the link to the interview on YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tuK9JRTmMw
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Digital technologies in elections

New Council of Europe publication

Digital solutions are already used in elections and increasingly discussed. Their security, i.e. compliance with constitutional principles even in the presence of attacks or system failures, has attracted attention in the recent years as it impacts the integrity of elections. Under article 3 of the additional Protocol to the ECHR the legislator has the important burden to introduce regulations that ensure that only digital solutions which comply with constitutional principles can be used in elections. This is not an easy task as the field is still experimental. The two studies presented here raise legal questions about the use of some digital technologies in the electoral cycle. They draw upon past experiences in several countries and suggest possible approaches. A checklist to the attention of the legislator is to be found at the end of the first study (conclusions).

The two studies were prepared to the attention of the Council of Europe. The first one (Developing a regulatory framework) was conducted upon request of the Central Election Commission of Ukraine with the support of the Council of Europe project on “Supporting the transparency, inclusiveness and integrity of electoral practice in Ukraine”. The second study (Overview of digital technologies used in the electoral cycle) was initially presented to the European Committee on Democracy and Governance (CDDG) of the Council of Europe who has been given the specific task of developing standards on the use of new technologies in the different stages of the electoral process.


The Study is available in English and in Ukrainian

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E-voting in Switzerland

Master students in Public and Nonprofit Management at the Luzern University of Applied Sciences and Arts organized a podium discussion on the topic “E-voting in Switzerland”. Initially due to take place on 21 April, the event was cancelled because of COVID19 restrictions. My foreseen input talk took the form of a written interview. I received thought provoking questions by the students, ranging from constitutional compliance of e-voting to its relevance in corona crisis times. Here is the full written interview.

Would e-voting in Switzerland comply with the principles of free and fair elections and would you see it consistent with our democratic principles?

A. Driza Maurer – What I find interesting about the use of digital technologies in elections is that such use questions our understanding of the constitutional principles. It’s not just e-voting, but also e-counting, the use of biometrics or blockchain that raise questions about the exact meaning of the basic principles of free and fair elections and their application to the technology.

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2019 developments in Swiss internet voting

Since our last post, internet voting in Switzerland has gone through some important developments. A draft federal law was put into consultation and an innovative transparency exercise took place at the beginning of 2019 : the publication of the source code of the Swiss Post/Scytl internet voting system and a public intrusion test on this very same system (from 25 Feb. to 24 March 2019).

The ultimate aim of these developments was to achieve the transformation of e-voting into an ordinary voting channel and to validate, after public examination, the suitability of the Swiss Post/Scytl internet voting system to offer internet voting for up to 100% of the electorate.

It is to be highlighted that this was the best example worldwide so far of achieving a high degree of transparency of an internet voting system used in elections. The Federal Chancellery and the Swiss Cantons have thus set a high transparency standard.

The results however were not the expected ones. Yet, the exercise yielded valuable insights into issues that need to be overcome before internet voting could realistically become an ordinary voting channel.

In a paper presented at E-Vot-ID 2019, I discuss some of these issues:

Other papers presented at E-Vot-ID 2019, including two interesting contributions on Swiss postal voting and on Swiss electors’ perception of e-voting, can be found here (2019 proceedings).

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