Observation of Internet voting: Estonian case Epp Maaten Election Expert Estonian National Electoral Committee

Legal basis for observation All activities related to elections are public Application to recieve observer’s certificate shall be submitted by: Representative of a foreign country Representative of international organisation Representative of political party Independent candidate Other person

Observer has a right : to be present at the meetings of electoral committees to observe all election procedures, process of voting verification of voting and election results. to observe organisation of electronic voting including key-management procedures of the electronic voting system annulment of votes verification of voting results

Access to I-Voting documentation Published on Web: Documentation of the I-Voting system Academic reports about I-Voting On demand: Audit reports about the technical and operational activities controlled by NEC Source code (under confidentiality contract)

Training for observers Political parties were invited to take part in a training course before each election. Purpose: Give an overview of the I-Voting documentation Give a timetable of critilical procedures Interest in trainings has been rather small.

Observation in practice Main observation tool : check the critical activities of the electoral administrators against pre-written documentation plus test-voting and counting before real voting period

Long observation period is a challenge Observation of the whole period allows to make conclusions about the integrity of the system. I-Voting procedures take about one month – a challenge for domestic and especially for foreign observers.

Counting the I-votes – “a theatre”? Ballot counting activities are shown on large screens. Counting process is narrated in order to help to follow each step. BUT observation activities concentrating on Election Day – this is a legacy of paper voting. Main I-voting risks are somewhere else. System administrators should concentrate on their work instead of public performance.

Importance of meaningful observation is growing Source: Report for the CoE 2010