Estonia is quite unique in its digital capabilities, and Estonians are certainly among the most willing users of e-services in the world. It may seem surprising that everything that seems elementary in Estonia today is still the music of the future in the rest of the world.
One of these capabilities is e-elections or the possibility of electronic voting without leaving home or from the other end of the world, even from the beach or a ski jump tower. Did you know that Estonia is the first country in the world to implement e-voting in a nationwide election?
Estonia has been able to cast votes electronically since 2005 – while the percentage of e-voters was less than 2% at the time, the percentage of e-voters in the 2023 Parliament elections was the 51.2%.
What is the process of electronic voting?
Electronic voting, or e-voting, takes place during the advance voting period and starts on the tenth day before the day of the election at 09:00 a.m. and ends on the fourth day before the day of the election at 20:00 p.m. Votes can be cast around the clock.
The voter app will be published on the election web shortly before e-voting begins. There will also be precise instructions for voting.
To e-vote, you need either a mobile-ID, Smart-ID or an ID-card and a computer that has the ID-software required to use the ID-card, Smart-ID or mobile-ID and ID-card certificate and PIN1 and PIN2 codes. You cannot e-vote with mobile devices or tablets.
The voting process is very simple: you need to download the voter application required for e-voting from the election website and log in to the application (using PIN1), and then you will be offered the opportunity to get to know the candidates. The voter app automatically offers you only candidates from your constituency. The candidates are grouped on the screen by political affiliations and individual candidates - feel free to click around and explore the options. Don’t be afraid that by accidentally pressing the “Elect” button you might send your vote to the wrong place: to vote, you'll need to re-confirm your selection in a separate window and give your digital signature using the PIN2 code. As long as you have not entered PIN2, your vote has not been given to any candidate.
The results of the e-vote are announced on the night of election day: the e-voting process is public and both the observers and the members of the electoral commission of the Republic are present.
What makes Estonia's e-voting special?
Electronic voting is used in most large countries, but it is generally stationary voting points (so-called kiosks) that need to be physically visited.
Estonian e-voting is internet-based and not dependent on location: if you have the option to use an ID-card, Smart-ID or mobile-ID, you are ready to vote.
This is why in texts comparing electronic solutions in Estonia and the rest of the world, the distinction between i-voting and e-voting can also be seen: i or internet-based (e-voting form familiar to Estonians) and e or all electronic (stationary or not) methods.
However, the distinction between e-voting and traditional voting is that e-voters have the opportunity to change their minds: for example, he can vote exactly as many times as he wants during the e-voting period. Only the last vote counts! If an advance voter casts their vote in addition to electronic channels by ballot at the polling station, all e-votes cast by them will be cancelled and only the vote cast by paper ballot will be valid (and cannot be changed).
Additional information:
Read more about e-voting at valimised.ee.
