A study provides an overview of the technical background on e-voting and shows ways in which e-voting could be implemented in Austria
A-SIT was active in the area of e-voting, for example in the Council of Europe’s Recommendation on Electronic Voting in 2004 and contributed to the inter-ministerial working group on E-Voting in 2004 in the area of IT security. A-SIT certified the electronic voting procedures used during the 2009 Election of the Austrian Students‘ Association. However, the technological foundation has since changed, for example due to the omnipresence of mobile technologies, the success of mobile phone signatures, the retirement of Java applets, and new technologies such as the blockchain. Furthermore, the international legal framework has also changed as a result of new recommendations on e-voting (Rec (2017) 5) issued by the Council of Europe. In addition, the impact on this topic like national developments such as the decision of the Austrian Constitutional Court (VfGH) on the ÖH election also needs to be considered. The below document presents a technology overview, based on current technological development. In addition, realistic possibilities are discussed on how to supplement absentee voting in Austria with electronic methods.