Introduction to Internet Voting

In 2005 Estonia became the first country in the world to have nation-wide local elections where people could cast binding votes over the internet. This world premiere was followed by successful implementation of e-voting at all levels of elections: local, national and European. To present day, Estonia has held eight elections over ten years, where people could cast legally binding votes over the internet.

In this course you will learn, what is the institutional and technical set-up behind internet voting, how does a typical e-voter look like, how fast do people actually vote online and how is it related to their age.  The course will also examine how exactly are costs related to the decision to vote and whether vote verification has increased trust towards e-voting.

By enrolling to the course, you will have an access to the latest findings related to the main developments in the field of e-voting in Estonia. The course relies on the research findings published in the book “E-voting in Estonia: Technological Diffusion and Other Developments Over Ten Years” (by our MOOC authors, Dr. Kristjan Vassil and Mihkel Solvak). The course and the book are unique in employing a wealth of empirical evidence - including 10 years of survey data on e-voting, actual log data on voting sessions and aggregate election data - to demonstrate the development and usage of internet voting.

The following course is a mini-version of a 8-week course "Diffusion and Impact of Internet Voting" offered by the University of Tartu. If you are interested in accessing the full course and in receiving 2 ECTS credits from the university, please visit the University of Tartu MOOCs page. 

This e-course is created with the support of the European Social Fund programme "Increasing Digital Literacy" and Estonian Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications.