The European Union and E-Voting (Electronic Voting)

The European Union and E-Votinginvestigates one of the latest potential changes in the 'technology of democracy' - electronic voting. It explores how it may impact on traditional mechanisms of democratic participation, raising issues that go to the very core of contemporary governance. Among the many questions tackled are the implications of introducing e-voting for European Parliamentary elections and its possible impact, not just on the quantity aspects of electoral turnout but also on the quality dimension of democratic participation. The contributors assess e-voting's compatibility with existing legal and constitutional principles and how to best design new online voting systems in order to ensure both security and convenience of use. Furthermore, the prospects for institutional innovation stemming from the introduction of e-voting and other e-democracy techniques are also addressed. Besides enriching the literature with new ideas at a time in which the European integration process isentering a distinctly more overt political phase, this volume also provides fruitful insights for the development of e voting and e-democracy across the world. This book deals with the political, social, legal and technological issues related to the possible introduction of electronic voting for future European Parliamentary elections. It will be of interest to all students and researchers of elections and the European Union.