The Inherent Difficulties and Complexities of Voting Electronically

Abstract

Countries worldwide have been conducting trials and holding pilots to evaluate the benefits and detriments of introducing electronic voting; while some have successfully implemented state of the art voting solutions, others have decided to abandon such attempts altogether. Across the field, one can see a multitude of different approaches, revealing the wide diversification of political cultures, legal regulations, social requirements, and contexts, within which this technology must be deployed. The approaches adopted can thus seem to be contradictory or indeed diametrically opposed. The purpose of this chapter is thus twofold. Firstly, it attempts to provide an introduction to the field of electronic voting while reviewing the most recent advances and related literature. Secondly, it attempts to evaluate under a perspicacious vision the level of maturity of the technology.