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How Is Technology Used Throughout the Electoral Cycle?

Revolutionizing the entire election process

In recent years, Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) have evolved exponentially, placing processes that weren’t possible 5 or 10 years ago within our grasp. We now live in a moment when technology and automation are influencing all aspects of our daily lives, and we have the option to choose between traditional and more modern approaches to various procedures.

In no area is this clearer than in the electoral field. Pen and paper methods have long dominated our democratic practices, but thanks to recent developments in ICT, nearly every step of an election can be made more efficient and secure with technology.

The use of technology is perhaps most paramount on election day itself. From casting a vote, to counting and tabulating the results of an election, digital technologies can increase the accessibility, accuracy and speed of crucial steps in an election.

Voting

Regarding the actual casting of ballots, various technologies have already been used beyond the traditional paper ballot. The most well-known are direct-recording electronic (DRE) voting machines and remote online voting.

DREs are electronic devices implemented at polling stations that voters use to select their voting choices. Due to criticisms about the security of these devices, they sometimes feature printers that generate paper trails that can be easily audited. Unfortunately, implementing DREs, and keeping them up-to-date, can often be a costly endeavor, not to mention a logistically complicated one, as well.

Remote online voting, on the other hand, is usually a software application or a web page that can be used from a voter’s computer or smartphone to fill out and cast their ballot. To ensure security against hacking and vote tampering, online voting systems include several verifiability features that allow voters to individually verify that their votes were both cast with their preferred choices and recorded correctly. They are also subject to strong auditing processes.

E-Pollbooks

In order to verify eligible voters, polling places maintain an electoral roll with the names of everyone authorized to vote. This list is also used to mark who has already voted to ensure that no one votes more than once. With modern technologies, computerized voter lists can replace the paper electoral roll, making the lists less prone to human errors, more traceable, and easier to use. Furthermore, if the computers are networked and linked together, the information can be centralized, giving voters the freedom to vote at any polling station.

Counting

After voting, the ballot boxes are opened, and the ballots counted. In traditional paper-based elections, this process can be time-consuming because the votes are manually counted. Instead, optical scanners can be used to read, interpret and count the ballots at high speeds. This method is only suitable for ballots that are based on marking, such as filling in a circle next to a candidate’s name, because the systems do not support optical character recognition (i.e., handwriting).

Tabulation and Publication of Results

After counting the ballots in each polling place, the tally sheets with the results must be brought to a central location where they are aggregated and where the outcome of the election is determined. These tally sheets can be sent by post, transmitted by telephone, or, most often nowadays, transmitted using a computer or smartphone. Using technology for this process radically speeds up the determination of final election results as compared to more traditional paper-based methods.

Once tallied, the outcomes of the election are published. While this has traditionally been done through broadcasting media, such as radio or television, in recent years, many governments and electoral boards have moved to publish results on official election websites. Web technologies have significantly improved this process making it more reliable and efficient.

Technology can also enhance the processes that take place before election day, ensuring a smooth election. Some examples of how technology can be used ahead of voting operations include:

Voter Registration

In some places, voters are not automatically registered prior to an election (i.e., self-initiated systems). Therefore, they must go to a physical place, such as an electoral office, to register to vote. Nowadays online solutions exist that enable voters to register from anywhere, using their computer.

Training of Election Officers

The people involved in the execution of an election must receive training to properly fulfill their role. Traditionally, election staff had to physically attend a training session and read printed information about their duties. With current technologies, however, people are now able to get online training directly from their home, using their computers or smartphones to access the material at any time.

Overall Electoral Management

The preparation of an election includes many procedures that can be easily automated or assisted by ICT. Some of the most common examples are the use of computer programs to configure the lists of candidates, provinces, voting districts, dates of the election, electoral roll, and other election specifics that will later be used in other steps of the election.

We are now at a critical point in election technology evolution where we can choose to transform the electoral sphere or continue trudging forward with paper-based processes. The implementation of ICT in elections not only makes them more efficient, sustainable, and user-friendly, but also creates room for added security and transparency components not possible with traditional paper methods. Although change and innovation in processes that have been around for thousands of years can be difficult, the advantages are clear, and the future is online.

This article was written by Jordi Cucurull, Cryptography Researcher, and Adrià Rodríguez-Pérez, Public Policy Researcher at Scytl.