Estonia officially allowed Internet voting for the European Parliament elections, last 7 June 2009. 58 000 Estonian voters, i.e. 15 % of the voting population, preferred eVoting to traditional voting.

Internet voting in Estonia did not aim to replace the traditional methods of voting but was rather used as a supplement. Remote voting was thought to provide the voters with the possibility to vote from their location of choice (home or office), without needing to go to a polling station. Electronic voting takes place during advance polls and government-issued ID-cards are used for voter identification.

In brief, the voting procedure is the following:

1. the voter inserts the ID-card into card reader and opens the webpage for voting (http://www.valimised.ee);
2. the voter verifies his/her identity using the PIN1 of ID-card;
3. the server checks whether the voter is eligible (using the data from the population register);
4. the voter is shown the candidate list of the appropriate electoral district;
5. the voter makes his/her voting decision, which is encrypted;
6. the voter confirms his/her choice with a digital signature (by inserting the PIN2-code);
7. at the vote count, the voter's digital signature is removed and, at the final stage, the members of the National Electoral Committee can collegially open the anonymous eVotes and count them.

There is a possibility of electronic re-vote: eVoters can cast their votes again electronically and in that case, their previous votes will be deleted.

The traditional means of voting (with a paper ballot) is given priority. Should the voter go to polling station during advance polls and cast a vote, his or her eVote shall be deleted. On election day, the registered electronic vote cannot be changed or made void.

After the electronic voting and advance polls end (4th day before election day) the list of voters who have voted electronically is sent to polling stations. The polling stations mark at the voters' list that the person has already voted. This prevents them from voting for the second time on election day.

Background information:

The eVoting system has been in Estonia, under development, since 2002 with the final pilot held at the end of 2004. In 2005, the system was used for the first time for local government council elections. In 2007, for the first time in the world, it was possible in Estonia to also vote online in parliamentary elections.

Further information:

• Original news article - World e-Democracy Forum
• Official Website of the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Estonian e-voting system