Estonia, one of the EU's smallest member states with a population of 1.4 million, will elect six MEPs in this year's elections. The country is by common consent at the EU forefront of bringing government and governance into the digital arena.
Experimental 'i-voting' (Internet voting) first took place in local elections in 2005, and was copper-fastened as part of the 2007 general elections, when 3.5% of voters used the online facility.
This is the first time the method has been used at European elections, though it remains unclear whether it will help to increase voter turnout, which at 27% was one of the lowest in the 2004 poll. By contrast, the 2007 national elections drew a healthy 62% to the polls.
A representative of the Estonian Parliament Chancellery's elections department told EurActiv that he does not expect the percentage of online voters to increase from the 3-4% benchmark set in 2007. He also conceded that Estonian authorities harbour no great expectations for a large increase in overall voter turnout.
"If it's over 30%, that is already a good result," he said, adding: "I don't think it can go above 40%."
However, he was tentatively encouraged by the early figures. Between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m today (Estonian time), over 4,000 citizens had voted online.
One Estonian voter contacted by EurActiv explained that more and more of her countrymen use online facilities to carry out civic functions such as banking and filing tax returns, and online voting makes sense in that context.
"I hope i-voting will increase turnout, and I believe it will," she said. Research experts who carried out pre-election studies believe turnout will increase to around 35%.
There is no indication that other EU countries are prepared to follow the Estonian model. A poll by the European Parliament found that while 30% of voters were fully in favour of i-voting and another 18% said they would vote online if they could be sure it was safe, a majority of 52% still preferred the trip to the polling booth. “Opinion was also split among MEPs as to its merits,” according to a Parliament communique.
Online voting will be available in Estonia until next Wednesday (3 June). Voting at polling stations will take place on Sunday 7 June.
