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Estonia makes voting from one's phone a reality later this year, Source: Unsplash

Estonians will be able to vote from their smartphones

Estonians will be able to vote from their smartphones

However, this option will not yet be available for the upcoming European Parliament elections in June

Estonian citizens will soon be able to vote from their mobile devices, such as phones and tablets after the country’s parliament (Riigikogu) passed a law to standardize and set the standards for this process. Soon, however, might not mean soon enough for those eager to try this out at the European Parliament elections since the law will only enter into force in October.

Online voting has been available to Estonians since 2005, making the country a pioneer in that respect, however, e-voting was only a matter of regulation controlled by the National Electoral Committee and the State Electoral Service.

The new amendments to the country’s election law, however, will turn the regulation into legislation by taking into account the Supreme Court's analysis of e-voting problems encountered until now.

Estonia - ahead in the digital citizenship game

It looks like, these legislative amendments will possibly make Estonia the first country in the world to allow voting through a smartphone – something that has long been expected to become a common practice in the future, what with the advent of technology in practically every aspect of daily life.

The legislative changes will create preconditions for the use of Smart-ID for personal identification, which will allow the use of mobile devices.

These decisions will be made by the State Electoral Service before each election if it finds that relevant risks have been managed and the core principles of free elections are ensured," clarified Madis Timpson, Estonia’s Minister of Justice, quoted by EER.

The amendments will enter into force pursuant to general procedure, with the exception of some provisions which will take longer to implement and should therefore land in October 2024.

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