Electronic Voting, security problems and the rituals of democracy

Abstract

The paper defends the full feasibility of electronic voting in the Italian constitutional system. Electronic voting can actually be considered as a secure voting tool as paper ballot voting. The author, through the reference to concrete cases, shows how the risk of electoral fraud is inherent in any electoral procedure, regardless of the nature of the instrument used to vote: every new technology has always been accompanied by criticisms and skepticism. According to the author, the security of voting procedures is conditioned by the trust citizens place in the normative system.The strength of a democracy lies in this awareness and in the consequent generation of tools and procedures which increasingly tend to guarantee the security of electoral operations not only during the casting of the vote but also in the subsequent possible phase of control over election results. Starting from this awareness, according to the author, we will realize that there are no more reasons to hinder the experimentation of electronic voting, even in the face of continuous updating and implementation of technology and security measures.