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

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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)

5. 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.

6. 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

7. 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.

8. 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.

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