Estonia Leads the Way in Mobile Voting: Pioneering Digital Democracy but Facing Challenges

In an effort to make voting more accessible, Estonia has proposed a new law that allows citizens to cast their ballots through special applications on mobile devices. However, the change will not take effect until October, which means it cannot be used in the upcoming European Parliament elections in June. Despite this, Estonia’s experience with online voting and digital governance sets it apart as a pioneer in Europe.

The country was the first in Europe to introduce online voting in 2005, and more than half of all votes in its parliamentary elections in March 2023 were cast digitally. This reflects the changing behavior of citizens towards smart devices and aims to make e-Estonia accessible on these platforms. The new law aims to provide even more convenience for voters by allowing them to cast their ballots on their mobile devices.

However, the procedure remains controversial due to concerns about reliability. While Estonia’s experience with online voting and digital governance sets it apart as a pioneer in Europe, there are still many places where the procedure is met with skepticism and hesitation. Nevertheless, Estonia continues to embrace digitalization and offer its citizens the convenience of conducting almost all transactions online in their daily lives.