The new normality: technologies applied to electoral processes

Electoral bodies and representatives of technology companies were invited to this initiative to discuss the evolution of the electoral processes, the introduction of technology and to present the latest solutions in this area.

Pablo Sarrias, Director of Technology in the area of Electoral Solutions participated on behalf of Minsait, an Indra company.

During his speech, Pablo Sarrias highlighted that the incorporation of technology to the sector cannot be an goal by itself. "Electoral processes are processes between human beings, a very important interaction that is a reflection of what society is". The main point, he said, is that we must look for aspects within the electoral ecosystem that can be improved thanks to technology, not consider its implementation as an objective itself.

Pablo Sarrias also explained how the global context of the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the implementation of technologies, especially with regard to remote electronic voting. He noted that interest in this type of technology has skyrocketed and, moreover, is being given a very interesting new perspective: “Different electoral bodies are realizing that remote electronic voting is not a substitute for a traditional electoral process, but it does help a significant part of the voters to vote from their cell phones”. The benefits of these mixed voting models are evident, since the number of voters who would personally go to the polling stations would be considerably reduced, facilitating the application of capacity control measures, social distancing, protection, etc. and, therefore, drastically reducing the risk of contagion. 

He then referred to the great challenge that providing a remote electronic voting system that gathers all required features to be considered transparent, reliable, auditable, etc. In short, to convince all the actors involved in an electoral process of the authenticity and accuracy of the results. To this end, Pablo Sarrias explained the necessary combination of technologies (advanced cryptography, blockchain, etc.) to respond to aspects as important as the privacy of the vote, integrity, audits, etc. and brought to the discussion an aspect that perhaps is even more crucial than the technology itself: the need for all these changes to be linked to an educational plan: "It is necessary to educate all actors, voters, candidates, political parties, etc.  so that everyone understands and trusts the system. It is a matter of trust".

In conclusion, the Minsait expert reinforced the idea that these changes cannot be implemented with a short-term vision. "It takes time, it takes perseverance and it takes clear thinking" he said.

In this link you can find the whole recording of the forum session including all panels that were presented.