Area: Javna uprava
Competent authority: MJU
EZU URL: .nan
Initiative ID: 996
Initiative accepted and completed: '2020-02-14'
Initiative classified in EZU: .nan
Initiative forwarded in response: '2020-02-12'
Initiative published: '2020-02-12'
Initiative submitted: '2020-02-05'
Response from the competent authority: "Reply from the Ministry of Public Administration:\
  \ the current electoral legislation does not generally provide for forms of voting\
  \ that do not require the voter to be present in person at the polling station,\
  \ and in particular does not provide for online or internet-based electronic voting.\
  \ The exception to the \"in person\" requirement is postal voting, which is provided\
  \ for voters in custody, in a penal institution, in a hospital or in a social welfare\
  \ institution for institutional care and disabled persons (second and third paragraphs\
  \ 81. Article 82, paragraph 2, of the Act on Elections to the National Assembly,\
  \ ZVDZ), and for voters who do not have their permanent residence in the Republic\
  \ of Slovenia or for voters who, on the day of the vote, are abroad because they\
  \ are temporarily residing there, who may vote by post or at diplomatic consular\
  \ missions of the Republic of Slovenia (Article 82, paragraphs 1 and 2, of the Act\
  \ on Elections to the National Assembly, ZVDZ). The term \"e-voting\" can also mean\
  \ (only) the introduction of electronic voting machines at physical polling stations,\
  \ which is why some people speak of \"i-voting\", which is supposed to mean the\
  \ use of secure and anonymous \"internet voting\" or online elections. However,\
  \ the new Council of Europe Recommendations on Standards for E-Voting (Recommedation\
  \ on Standards for E-Voting, June 2017) only use the term \"e-voting\", which also\
  \ includes internet voting.The advantages of online voting (i-voting) are considered\
  \ by many to be mainly in the technological modernisation and simplification of\
  \ the voting process itself, which can be expected to increase participation in\
  \ elections and thus make elections more democratic. The advantages further include\
  \ the cost-effectiveness of such elections, the facilitation of the work of the\
  \ electoral authorities or even the absence of the need for the presence of electoral\
  \ committees, as well as the achievement of faster election results, etc. This is\
  \ opposed by views on the extent to which such a way of voting could be genuinely\
  \ more cost-effective, in particular in the event of the introduction of parallel\
  \ online voting to the traditional paper ballot system, which it would be advisable\
  \ to retain at least for the elderly and for those who are not able to vote via\
  \ the internet. In particular, the opposing views raise doubts about the security\
  \ of such elections (secrecy, freedom of the vote, protection of personal data,\
  \ etc.).Other countries are also cautious about introducing online voting. For example,\
  \ only Estonia has electronic elections in practice, but it also offers \"physical\"\
  \ voting in parallel. Several developed countries in the world, including Switzerland,\
  \ Norway, Germany, the USA and Canada, have already carried out e-voting pilot projects,\
  \ but have abandoned them because their information security experts judged that\
  \ the technological aspect of remote voting could be abused and the outcome of the\
  \ election changed in any case. The Estonians have also been told by international\
  \ experts that their electoral system is demonstrably very vulnerable and can be\
  \ manipulated, and have even been advised to stop using it until technology offers\
  \ more reliable solutions (more on this in the online article ). The Slovenian government\
  \ has made several proposals for changes to electoral legislation over the years,\
  \ but all attempts to introduce online elections have failed due to a lack of political\
  \ support. In this context, it is worth recalling the high political consensus required\
  \ for the adoption of amendments to the basic electoral legislation, as a two-thirds\
  \ absolute majority is required for the adoption of amendments to the Law on Elections\
  \ to the National Assembly.The Ministry is committed to establishing as many electronic\
  \ public administration services as possible, and also to maximising their use.\
  \ In the area of elections and referendums, there is the possibility of submitting\
  \ online support for a request to call a referendum. In addition, an electronic\
  \ form \"E-notification of voters\" is available on the eGovernment Portal at every\
  \ election, which simplifies the process for voters to inform the electoral authorities\
  \ that they wish to vote in the elections by another method (e.g. by.The use of\
  \ such services is also gradually building citizens' trust in electronic services\
  \ and, consequently, in online elections.\r\n We believe that the development of\
  \ encryption technologies and better methods of ensuring a secure IT environment,\
  \ as well as the systematic regulation of online voting in electoral and referendum\
  \ legislation, will be crucial for the future of online voting, but that thorough\
  \ reflection and detailed consultation with experts and the wider public will be\
  \ necessary before arriving at a convincing and trustworthy solution. More information\
  \ on the introduction of e-elections, including from information security experts,\
  \ is also available in the minutes of the Committee on Home Affairs, Public Administration\
  \ and Local Self-Government of the National Assembly (61st urgent session) of 5\
  \ December 2017 (the full minutes are available at the following link)."
Text file: 996.txt
Title: e-elections
URL: https://www.stopbirokraciji.gov.si/pobuda/?st=996
