The Evolution of E-Voting: Why Voting Technology is Used and How it Affects Democracy

Today, ICT is a widespread, common phenomenon, so technology-based electoral procedures (also often called electronic voting (hereinafter: e-voting)), seem almost inevitable. touches upon core principles in the governance of the contemporary democratic state. One might go as far as to say that the mechanisms of elections are not only methods through which societies may express their opinions but also indicators of how they use technology in general. Numerous elections throughout history have made use of emerging technologies in one way or another. In addition, the development that voting technology has undergone since the appearance of the first concepts of mechanical voting machines some 170 years ago is remarkable. As this paper will show, when a government follows a balanced and proportional approach that considers multiple dimensions and undertakes careful preparations, including deciding for a step-by-step approach, it can deploy voting technology that contributes to a better democracy.