e-Voting conference: What South Africa can learn from other countries

The discussion surrounding electronic voting (e-voting) turned to what lessons the country could learn from the rest of the world who has made strides, and faced their own challenges in the implementation and adoption of e-voting.

The conference, running until 12 March 2024, is focusing on the prospect of electronic voting in South African elections, and will serve as a pivotal platform for initiating a public conversation about the possibility of introducing electronic voting sometime in the future.

The conference is based on research commissioned by the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) and undertaken by the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC).

HSRC’s senior research specialist, Dr Simangele Dlamini, presented his talk on “Pro’s & Con’s of E-Voting: Reasons Countries adopt or Abandon/Reject e-voting” where he unpacked how other countries fared, and what lessons can be learned from them.

Dlamini started off his session where he highlighted that e-voting can provide fast seamless ballot tabulation, leading to quicker election results.

In his presentation, he said:

• It reduces the number of unintentionally spoilt ballots due to the clarity of electronic interfaces.
• e-voting could mitigate low voter turnout, particularly among young people who find paper-based voting tedious.
• Young voters prefer shorter election periods, which e-voting streamlines by automating processes.
• In the medium- to long-term, e-voting is regarded as economically viable, requiring fewer resources than paper-based voting.
• E-voting machines can be configured for various electronic interfaces, addressing challenges like illiteracy and visual impairments.

Prior to his talk, IEC CEO, Sy Mamabolo set the scene explaining that currently the world has a handful of countries that have adopted or experimented with electronic voting systems for elections or referendums.

“Countries such as Estonia, Switzerland, Brazil, India and several of the states in the United States of America, to mention just a few, are spearheading e-voting technologies.

“We have seen other countries that have experimented with electronic voting technologies before deciding to pause or even abandon the experiment after a variety of concerns, including security-related issues, were raised,” Mamabolo said.

“In Africa, several countries including Namibia and the Democratic Republic of Congo have attempted to experiment with electronic voting systems for their elections. Although in Namibia this was attempted, it was subsequently abandoned.

“Nonetheless, these systems are still developing and not yet widespread across the continent. From what we observe, some of the common delays or factors halting the implementation of e-voting in many countries, are largely related to security concerns and affordability.”

Dlamini elaborated saying that when looking at what the global implementation, it shows that there are countries with successes and failures.

Brazil saw success with large-scale deployment, India saw success with massive implementation, and Estonia found success as a pioneer in internet voting.

Countries with challenges included the DRC which had voter trust issues, Ireland faced legal challenges, Netherlands faced issues of cybersecurity concerns, and Germany had challenges of system reliability.

“Brazil has successfully deployed e-Voting across its vast geographical expanse, enhancing voter participation and reducing electoral fraud. The system allows for efficient ballot counting and quick results, improving public confidence in the elections,” Dlamini explained.

“India has implemented e-voting on a massive scale, utilizing e-voting machines (EVMs) to streamline the voting process. This initiative has increased accessibility and reduced the time taken for ballot counting, providing valuable lessons for South Africa.

“Estonia is a pioneer in internet voting, allowing citizens to vote online from anywhere. This model has successfully increased voter turnout and engagement, demonstrating the potential of e-voting in addressing traditional voting challenges,” Dlamini explained.

He did also make sure to explain that while the aforementioned countries saw successes, they did face challenges in implementing e-voting.

Dlamini said that while the HSRC report has recommendations in the policy discussion document, he stressed that the conversation is still continuing, and that the document is only starting the discussion on whether e-Voting is viable.

He said it is not on the HSRC to take a side on the matter, but only to present the recommendations and information to the IEC.

theolin.tembo@inl.co.za