E-voting cannot be introduced in Lithuania until 100 percent security is guaranteed, Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė has said following a feasibility study.
“The main question is security, and as long as it’s impossible to answer that security question 100 percent, then I think experiments in this area would be simply dangerous for democracy,” she told reporters at the Seimas on Thursday.
The Central Electoral Commission (VRK) presented a feasibility study on Wednesday, showing that there is a possibility of introducing an e-voting information system in Lithuania, but it is recommended to do so after minimising social and technological risks.
“I believe this is a question for future generations, not for future governments,” Šimonytė said, adding that any e-voting system must ensure both data security and voting secrecy.
“To be honest, I’m not the best expert on IT security, but I have not seen any experts who assure me that it is possible to meet both requirements simultaneously. That is probably the main problem,” she noted.
Given that all democracies are now targeted by regimes that use information systems to wreak havoc, as well as steal or falsify data, the issue of security in the current geopolitical context is crucial, Šimonytė pointed out.
In her words, the experience of other countries shows that e-voting does not encourage voter turnout.
Carried out by Civitta, the e-voting feasibility study also concludes that the implementation of an e-voting project in Lithuania “creates more risks than benefits”. These include the geopolitical situation and the loss of electoral legitimacy in the event of a cyber-attack, as well as the public’s lack of trust in authorities and information systems due to misinformation.
Technological risks include the possibility of leakage and distortion of voting data, even with the most advanced ballot encryption technologies.
A market survey carried out during the study showed that the development, implementation and maintenance of an e-voting system from 2025 to 2038 would cost the state about 20 million euros. The authors of the report recommend acquiring a system already existing abroad and adapting it to Lithuania’s needs.
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