In order to be able to use Smart-ID voting in the European Parliament elections in June, the Estonian Parliament must approve legislation by the end of March to allow Smart-ID voting, warned Oliver Kask, head of the National Election Service, but despite the fact that the elections are only three months away, the coalition plans to adopt amendments in time to allow Smart-ID voting alongside ID cards and Mobile-ID, reports Estonian media ERR.
This could change the number of people who vote online, as currently 700 000 people use Smart-ID and 244 000 use Mobile-ID.
A bill to amend the law and ease voting with a smart device was passed in first reading at the end of last year. However, the Chairman of the Constitutional Committee, Hendrik Terras, pointed out that more discussions were still needed to move the bill forward to second and third reading, underlining the need for legal and technical clarity to prepare for such a vote.
He said that although voting by smart devices is unlikely to be possible this year,
the legislation aims at a simultaneous change of rules for both “Smart-ID” and “Mobile-ID”.
Terras expressed uncertainty about the adoption of the draft law by the end of March, indicating April as a possible deadline for adoption.
However, Kask, head of the National Electoral Service, warned that April would be too late for the European Parliament elections, stressing that rigorous testing of Smart-ID voting should be carried out before implementation, which according to Terras should start now, without waiting for the law to be adopted.
Kask said that international standards recommend making changes no later than a year before the elections, but at the end of March the vote will be just over two months away.
If the draft law is not adopted by the end of March, the adoption of new rules will have to be postponed until after the EP elections, leaving the possibility of introducing Smart-ID in municipal elections, Kask said.
Kask stressed the importance of thorough testing to avoid complications, “but of course in a democracy the legislator has the last word,” Kask said.
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