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Could Estonia Be the Model for Secure Online Voting?

As we head into October 2020, everyone is talking about election security from various perspectives.

Back in June, this blog explained how election security has become a top issue. Since that time, the focus and political posturing by governments, the media, cybersecurity pros and both political parties has only increased, with a special scrutiny on voting by mail.

Another Election Perspective: Estonia

But taking a big step back and putting the November 2020 presidential election aside for a moment (which is hard to do, I know), some experts are already looking around the world for the answer to the simple questions: How can we do secure voting better? Where is the best model to follow? Can we bring elections into the 21st century?   

Back in early 2019, Time published an article entitled “What the U.S. Can Learn About Electronic Voting From This Tiny Eastern European Nation.” Here’s how it opens: “On Sunday, when citizens of the tiny Baltic nation of Estonia go out to vote for their next parliament, many of their compatriots will have already voted — from the comfort of their own homes.

“That’s because Estonia is the world leader in electronic voting. Since 2005, Estonians have been able to cast their ballots from a computer with an Internet connection anywhere in the world. The government says 30 percent of Estonia’s population of 1.3 million people use the system, and that its simplicity helps save the country a total of 11,000 working days each election year.”

Meanwhile, VentureBeat recently added this piece to the dialog: “What Estonia could teach us about internet voting in a post-pandemic world.” The article explains that “while the United States grapples with controversy over electronic voting machines and mail-in ballots, Estonia has created a remote (Read more...)