Questioning the Democratic Value in e-Voting Technology

Before we implement e-voting technology in election, first we need to ask whether the technology is compatible with democratic value. Majority of voters in Indonesia do not know the process of vote transcript in e-voting election and the risk of using the technology.

“If voters do not know how it work, then the election is not democratic,” says a researcher from New South Wales University, Manik Hapsara, during a public discussion titled “e-Recap: The Much Needed Election Technology for Indonesia” in Jakarta (03/14).

Manik says that the government should take a lesson from other countries which have already implemented e-voting but then return to manual voting. For example, in Netherlands, says Manik, voters protested against the use of e-voting because the control for democracy is in the hands of the corporations which produce and provide the technology.

In addition, Manik says that e-voting technology potentially violates the principle of secrecy. The e-voting machine will record the vote of every voter, including personal data of the voter.

Manik hopes that the government and members of the parliament will not easily be tempted to implement e-voting only because some people claim that the technology is more faster, better, and cheaper. The use of technology in election should be based on current needs, not wants.