Estonia to allow citizens to vote via cellphone by 2011

Brutal honesty here: on election day this past November, the entire Engadget staff (well, those of us with US passports) collectively agreed that casting our vote via SMS or some other incredibly simple method would be infinitely more awesome than trudging out in the streets and waiting in hour-long lines. Clearly, some higher-ups in Estonia are on board with that concept, as its Parliament has approved a law that will likely make it the first nation on Planet Earth to give citizens the right to vote by phone in something that matters (American Idol notwithstanding). 'Course, those who choose to take advantage must first obtain a free authorization chip for their handset, which sort of kills the whole "not having to leave your house" aspect of all this. Ah well, at least we're moving in the right direction.

[Erb @ Dec 13th 2008 2:25AM]

I can sense the spamming!

"Sir... There's a problem. We received 97,729,361 votes... and we only have a population of 1,315,912."

[ahbi @ Dec 13th 2008 2:34AM]

That isn't spamming, ... that's Chicago.

Thank you me & Gov. Rod Blagojevich will be providing entertainment all weekend.

[Konstantin @ Dec 13th 2008 2:49AM]

I know, screw waiting in lines. Does this look like Russia? Then again, the lines in Russia are for bread and not democracy (hehe)

[KarlW @ Dec 13th 2008 3:45AM]

Were you born 60 years ago or something?

Cold War jokes are so old, making them is itself a joke.

[Flashpoint @ Dec 13th 2008 8:32AM]

Erb

all you gotta do is have a competent voter registration system.

The way I see it, to vote by cellphone, you should have 3 codes.

#1 Your SS or identification number
#2 a number mailed to you by voter registrar
#3 your own personal pin number.

You might be able to fake two of these but all three? Unlikely.


Alot of people don't understand the voting process, and I noticed when Obama was running, they tried to make it took like ACORN was helping him get fake votes. No...what really happened was people on the streets who were being paid to find and register voters were making up fake names just to get their check. Those fake names still had to go through the registration process before being validated. Those fake names would in actuality, never make it to the voting booth.

I want to see cellular voting because I want to increase participation in the election process. The way I see it, if 90% of all Iraqi's could brave I.E.D's and militias to go vote, More than 185 million out of 300 million Americans should be able to do so to.

[Chizzed @ Dec 13th 2008 2:01PM]

I can get Pizza Hut delivered to my house in under 30 minutes with a 4 digit SMS. Why can't I vote like that? :(

[Dre @ Dec 13th 2008 2:27AM]

eeehhhhh..... That wouldn't fly over here.

[who? @ Dec 13th 2008 3:18AM]

Why not? Where's 'over here'? Why do I care about some randomly vague comment? Ahhhh!! I'm going to bed now. G'night.

[derX @ Dec 13th 2008 2:29AM]

...that's definitely not going to end well. It sounds like a good idea, but that's just going to end in a riot.

[zioncat @ Dec 13th 2008 3:14AM]

Yes clearly that is a bad idea.

[derX @ Dec 13th 2008 3:17AM]

On a more cheery note, hopefully they'll have their RAZRs handy when rioting ensues. It protects one from bullets.

...if the system's called VOTR or something Motorola-esquely vowel-deficient, you can be sure it's a conspiracy.

[lu1de @ Dec 13th 2008 5:18AM]

I used to have a RAZR but now I have an iPhone 3G :/

[Dre @ Dec 13th 2008 2:32AM]

exactly..

[Spartacus @ Dec 13th 2008 2:32AM]

Do you have to get a new authorization chip every election? Because if not then this is something I would consider doing on my planned "one last trip outside" before the "not having to leave your house" plan begins for real.

[woo @ Dec 13th 2008 3:34AM]

No, you don't have to get a new authorization chip for every election. In fact, you'll just have to get a new SIM-card, that supports it.

[bwoy @ Dec 13th 2008 5:35AM]

Basically it has to be a SIM that connects to the person's digital ID. At the moment there is already such a thing provided by one carrier (called Mobile ID) but I dont know if the principle will be the same. For now I can use it to log into bank, citizen's e-sevices (http://www.eesti.ee/eng/), car registry, tax office etc.

[Sarig @ Dec 13th 2008 2:37AM]

Pretty sure this isn't a first.

[nolimitanggere @ Dec 13th 2008 3:26AM]

now they can yell "FIRST!!!"

[derX @ Dec 13th 2008 3:49AM]

-They aren't first.
-They can yell "first"!

Nolimitanggere, surely your comment was the next logical step.

[Brick-House @ Dec 13th 2008 2:48AM]

ESS-TOE-KNEE-AHHH?

[derX @ Dec 13th 2008 3:47AM]

...wtf was there a need for that?

HOOKED ON PHONICS much?

(Also, don't take this personally. I see being up at this hour makes me an internet bitch. Mah' bad.)

[PyRo1509 @ Dec 13th 2008 2:53AM]

i get a new cellphone around every election cycle...
So im going to have to constantly go get my phone checked...
I prefer online voting.. that can be pretty secure..

[ghy @ Dec 13th 2008 2:54AM]

Hey thats my phone! It is not gonna work here....

[Uncontrol @ Dec 13th 2008 2:56AM]

As cool as this idea is in theory, introducing electronics to elections should be avoided unless absolutely necessary.

I live in Canada and every polling station is standardized and every ballot is cast on paper with a circle filled in via pencil. Every ballot is hand-counted (I've participated in this), with the counting supervised by scrutineers from parties in order to reduce the chance of fraud.

Meanwhile, in America there are constantly reports coming out about the ineffectiveness and susceptibility of voting machines. Keep it simple.

[Spartacus @ Dec 13th 2008 3:14AM]

There has got to be at least a dozen Canada jokes in there, but then the US being one BIG joke just kinda makes them less funny.

Nah, not going to stop me.

SCENE: Canadian polling place
ENTER 40 something bearded man wearing denim jeans, cutoff denim shirt, denim vest.
APPROACH Other 40 something bearded man, denim jeans, flannel top.
RON: "Hey Earl, you hear about this new electronic votin'?"
EARL: "Yuppers Ron, lookin forward to seein the fancy new thingamajig."
RON ENTERS VOTING BOOTH. RETURNS IMMEDIATELY. ENTERS NEXT BOOTH. AGAIN RETURNS, ENTERS FINAL BOOTH. RETURNS.
RON: "Well Earl, looks like we'll have to go to a different polling place. All the machines already been voted on"
EARL ENTERS BOOTH, RETURNS
EARL: "Darnitall, shoulda been here earlier."
REVEAL VOTING MACHINE, TWO NAMES ON TICKET, ONE CIRCLE FILLED IN BY #2 PENCIL

[Uncontrol @ Dec 13th 2008 3:20AM]

spartacus i can safely assume that you have never ever been to canada, and even if you have, americans are the last people who should be making redneck jokes about other countries

[derX @ Dec 13th 2008 3:44AM]

Uncontrol, you raise a very important point: what, exactly, is the difference between a redneck and lumberjack? When I read that, I thought lumberjack, but I can certainly see the redneck portrayal in there, too.

Also, Spartacus, that was wholly unfunny. You've shamed our country. Please hand over your internet.

(Spartacus, I'm just bitchin' around here; don't take this personally....but I do require your internet. I understand completely if you're unable to respond.)

[Uncontrol @ Dec 13th 2008 3:51AM]

lumberjack cuts down trees

redneck's on welfare and more inbred

[KarlW @ Dec 13th 2008 3:56AM]

Electronic voting isn't a bad thing - it's just done by contractors who can't build a decent system. I mean, my card details are stored by Amazon pretty well, so it can't be impossible to get electronic voting right.

Hand counting is unduly long and error-prone. Yes, it's scrutinized, but there may still be errors. An electronic system could tally votes instantly and if done as well as Amazon or eBay, wouldn't introduce errors or be prone to hacking.

Just comission Microsoft, Apple, IBM or HP to do it. Not some bedroom startup. Experience is just as important as price. In fact, if your little startup makes a bunch of machines that can be hacked by a monkey, experience is the most important factor.

[Gordon @ Dec 13th 2008 10:10PM]

"Just comission Microsoft, Apple, IBM or HP to do it. Not some bedroom startup"

You must be kidding me or working in these related companies. I sure hope blog comments are not taken seriously. Although using the Bedrooms to make love and human startups is fun.

[Alpinerover @ Dec 13th 2008 5:59AM]

Lumberjacks sleep all night and work all day.

[Spartacus @ Dec 13th 2008 12:42PM]

OK I see how it is....

.....I'M NOT YOUR FRIEND GUY!!!!!!!

(fuck canada)

[Spartacus @ Dec 13th 2008 12:50PM]

Oh hell, now I'm upset I've upset Canadians everywhere. It's not a redneck joke anymore than a blond joke is a redneck joke. You can be tech-illiterate and stupid and not a redneck. But then you're Canadian... I wouldn't expect you to know that. ;)

For the record I've been to Canada a couple dozen times. Montreal and Vancouver are both awesome, blah blah blah... the thing about jokes is they work better with negative stereotypes. A joke that starts with 2 cool Canadians standing around isn't going to end up funny. Apparently neither were the two stereotypical Canadians, but at least they had potential.

[who? @ Dec 13th 2008 3:15AM]

Send Message:
Obama/Biden

Autocorrect:
McCain/Palin

Now sending.

Nooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!

/possible transcript for a crappy movie

It could change the world.

[derX @ Dec 13th 2008 3:41AM]

WTF type of autocorrect is that?

It's...it's...it's....a C O N S P I R A C Y.

*dramatic music*

And I, for one, welcome the Obama/Biden v. McCain/Palin election runoff in ESTONIA.

[who? @ Dec 13th 2008 3:57AM]

Talking about the recent election was supposed to tip you off to the fact that I was talking about it being implemented in the U.S. Apparently I wasn't clear enough for you, so I'll give it another shot:

THIS FILM TAKES PLACE WITHIN THE UNITED STATES.

Happy now?

[KarlW @ Dec 13th 2008 4:04AM]

I'm not, now that I know Obama's planning to run in Estonia.

Probably moving there for tax reasons. Heh, that'd be ironic.

[who? @ Dec 13th 2008 4:12AM]

Oh yeah? Well... Oh... I'm too tired for this... Yeah! Go ________!!

[thedesolate1 @ Dec 13th 2008 4:58AM]

If they were AT&T handsets I wouldn't doubt that would happen.

[who? @ Dec 13th 2008 1:29PM]

@thedesolate1

No offense, but referring to all AT&T handsets is unacceptable generalization.

[thedesolate1 @ Dec 17th 2008 1:59AM]

@who

http://government.zdnet.com/?p=4116'

considering they were already giving the guy free service what's a little phone vote rigging gonna hurt?

[Kris @ Dec 13th 2008 3:54AM]

As an Estonian I can assure you that this system has proven itself already. We had online elections some years ago and no errors occured during it what so ever. Then we had to use our ID-cards (the main identification document in Estonia) which were connected to an USB reader and the voting process was ridiculously simple. The system bases on secure certificates which must be hard to crack. I honestly don't know since as long as it works, i don't care. This new mobile system just puts the certificates on a SIM card which makes it super easy for ex. people who live on the countryside and cannot or are not willing to get to a voting-station. And if anyone is concerned about his privacy then rest assured - a vote cast at a voting station Will override all mobile votes (yes, you can vote several times if you choose to change your mind). If you would like to know more about our so called "E-Country" systems then head to http://www.id.ee/?lang=en
You know, it's easy to innovate if the population is so little.

[IndiaTech @ Dec 13th 2008 4:57AM]

I am waiting for iEye to pop up and say how iPhone is going to make this thing really awsome and how voting using other phones sucks...

[Dave @ Dec 13th 2008 5:29AM]

This is the same country that got screwed up by those cyber attacks back in 2007? Sounds like a great idea...

But in seriousness, I would love to see a much more simple method of voting implemented in our country. Especially for those of us that live overseas.

[blarvh @ Dec 13th 2008 5:40AM]

Great way to enable votes to be sold. What happened to votes being secret and not having the possibility to see who someone voted for?

[puhsitch @ Dec 14th 2008 12:11AM]

That's the best argument against this. They can't possibly guarantee anonymity when you're sending a vote from your phone.

That, and there would be some serious protest from people who feel that this type of voting would create an uneven field, where an advantage of convenience is given to those who can afford cell phones.

[ivar @ Dec 13th 2008 7:07AM]

selling votes is done anyway. some people have given a bottle of vodka for a vote. when someone is watching how you vote or wants you to vote a certain way you can later go and vote in private booth and your mobile or online vote will be deleted

[DG @ Dec 13th 2008 8:12AM]

It doesn't sound like the Estonian system is anonymous the way it is here. It's also allows someone to coerce someone into changing their vote, since the voting isn't taking place in a verifiably private setting like a booth. Combining secret ballot with verifiability, in an environment where entire nations would be motivated to try to game the election if this were technically possible, isn't as easy at it sounds. The analogy to banking systems or e-commerce via credit card is flawed because there are actually breaches to those systems all the time ... it's just that institutions in that business foot the bill for some of the risk. Who foots the bill to "insure" an election against fraud?

[bureX @ Dec 13th 2008 9:27AM]

"The whole process of voting should be complicated to it's core to avoid counting the votes of every moron who can't fill out all the paperwork correctly."
(original quote by RamboAmadeus)

[Dr Robotnik @ Dec 13th 2008 9:48AM]

In Soviet Estonia SSR, Cellphone votes YOU!!!!