You transfer money to an online bank account. You chat with your colleagues online as you work from home. You vote in the next election from home, using an app on your phone. Only one of those scenarios is not currently an option. Why?
Working from home or banking online must have once seemed like the stuff of science fiction, but they’re now the norm. So, why does e-voting still seem like such a far-fetched idea to some? The technology for secure voting already exists, and is constantly being reviewed and improved. If we’re doing everything else online, why not embrace online voting? With the notable exception of Estonia, it seems as though we’re still a long way from accepting e-voting as a viable option in parliamentary elections.
The e-voting revolution is overdue, but who’s to blame? Does the resistance come from politicians or voters? By comparing e-voting to online banking and remote working, we can see that it’s most likely an issue of ignorance, power, and who stands to lose control….
Online banking: how customers were won over
The birth of online banking can be traced back to the early 1980s, when some New York City banks offered home banking to their customers. However, it wasn’t until the mid 90s, when the average household was more likely to own a personal computer, that banks really encouraged customers to use online banking, and even then, it took at least another decade to become standard practice. So, around 40 years from conception to domination - relatively little time, when you consider that online banking was growing and developing alongside the Internet and home computers. Considering the potential risk and people’s concerns about protecting their finances, perhaps the question to ask is this: why was there so little resistance to online banking?
In the early stages, many customers were reluctant to switch to online banking. It wasn’t until the boom of e-commerce (with companies such as Amazon and eBay) that people came round to the idea of managing their savings online. Once shopping online had entered the mainstream, online banking didn’t seem like a big jump. Banks encouraged customers to make the switch by offering more competitive rates, low fees and efficient 24/7 service. And it wasn’t just customers who benefitted - with fewer buildings and staff, banks also enjoyed lower overheads and higher profit margins.
In other words, online banking offered a win-win situation for everyone. Banks improved security and anti-fraud measures to reassure customers, and offered more and more incentives over the years, along with constant advertising. Customer trust improved, and online banking is now so convenient that many customers rarely see a reason to set foot in their local branch.
Despite some initial resistance to online banking, the push for change came from the banks themselves, and customers were gradually won over, through seeing (and being constantly reminded of) the many benefits. This is the key to explaining why online banking took off, while e-voting still remains a hypothetical for most of the world. How often do you hear politicians or powerful organizations discussing e-voting, let alone trying to convince voters that it’s the future?
Remote working: resistance is futile
The story of the switch to remote working is a little different. Firstly, while it’s much more widespread than it was 10 years ago - mainly thanks to improvements in technology and connectivity - it’s not the same success story as online banking. Businesses that actively encourage their employees to work from home are still in the minority, and generally restricted to forward-thinking tech companies like Google. Other companies allow some workers to work from home some of the time, while others allow remote working only in extreme circumstances, as the COVID-19 outbreak has shown.
There is still some opposition to remote working on both sides. Some employees feel lonely and isolated working from home, and some employers feel as though they have more control when they’re able to monitor work in the office. Attitudes to remote work also depend on where you are in the world. Ask your boss in Finland whether you can work from home so you can spend more time with your family, and they’re very likely to accept. Ask your boss in Japan whether you can work remotely because of a pandemic, and you may well be told to come in anyway.
However, this looks likely to change. The resistance to remote work is rapidly diminishing, and as a result of COVID-19 may vanish altogether for many employers and employees who were previously reluctant. The continuing opposition is likely to come from a more old-fashioned generation of employers, worried about losing control. But as the advantages of remote work are so obvious, it seems that it’s here to stay - a gradual but inevitable change.
Online voting: a minority leading the way
That brings us to the even more gradual move towards online voting. As we mentioned previously, the technology for online voting already exists, and is improving all the time. Companies such as domino.vote are using blockchain technology to enable secure online voting from personal devices. Essentially, e-voting is already here, but, like online banking in the 90s, only a small minority are doing it.
Estoniais the only country that has truly taken the plunge with online voting for parliamentary elections, despite the obvious advantages (such as accessibility, cost-saving and sustainability). The Estonian government saw the benefits, communicated these benefits to the public, and convinced voters to give it a try. It’s been an undisputed success - the number of people choosing to vote online in elections grows every year, with the majority saying they would choose to vote this way again.
The example of Estonia shows us exactly what needs to happen. It’s a similar story to online banking, as we outlined previously; banks actively, consistently encouraged customers to switch to online banking over the years, providing them with the necessary information and allaying their fears with facts. Over time, sceptics became converts. Doing it online is now so mainstream that it’s entirely unremarkable.
Why hasn’t the rest of the world followed in Estonia’s footsteps? The opposition comes from two sides:
Voters. Those who are resistant to online voting cite security fears, arguing that it’s too easy to hack and manipulate systems (though they’re probably perfectly happy to share other sensitive information online). Other voters are not necessarily resistant to the idea of online voting, but they may only be vaguely aware of its potential benefits, so they’re not fighting for change.
Politicians. Of course, politicians are voters too, and some may have the same fears and doubts about security as the rest of us. Others may have a vested interest in opposing online voting because it makes voting more accessible. Donald Trump has openly admitted that making it easier to vote in the US would damage the Republican Party. No wonder that advocating for online voting hasn’t been a top priority for some political parties.
Overcoming the resistance to online voting: what needs to happen next?
Having identified the cause of opposition to e-voting, we would propose the following steps to speed up the advent of the online revolution:
- Challenge politicians and current voting systems
It’s outrageous that voter suppression is a tactic in a democratic country in the 21st century. Voters need to hold politicians accountable, and insist on the importance of accessibility. The switch to online voting can’t and shouldn’t happen overnight, but we can start by campaigning for elections that are equally accessible for everyone. This could be achieved in numerous ways, including information campaigns and a more flexible attitude towards remote voting. Online voting would then be a logical next step.
- Share information
People are afraid of things they don’t understand. We didn’t need to know all the technical details to be reassured that online banking was secure, but we did need to be reassured that the technology had been tried and tested, and that glitches could be fixed quickly. Something similar needs to happen with online voting. Not just messages from the tech companies behind e-voting apps, but a wider conversation in the media, to convince voters that they can trust the technology.
- Familiarise people with the concept of online voting through low-stakes decision-making
Parliamentary elections are an example of high-stakes voting; people are understandably anxious about their vote counting. Before e-voting for elections becomes widespread, we need to become more comfortable with the notion of online decision-making. If students get used to online polls at school, while office workers regularly use an app to vote in the boardroom, voting online in a local or even a national election won’t seem like such a daunting prospect.
This is where domino.vote comes in. The domino.vote app allows confidential, inclusive voting for all kinds of organizations. Our mission is to facilitate democratic decision-making - accessible voting for everyone. The question is: are you ready to join us?