Is Malaysia ready for e-voting?

THE government is currently exploring the possibility of implementing e-voting for the upcoming General Election (GE) due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Takiyuddin Hassan said e-voting would post several challenges pertaining to data confidentiality and security other than cost.

He said that the EC is always ready to face the possibility of GE-15 happening at any time and guarantees that the electoral system and methods will be improved.

He reassures that the EC will continue to engage with relevant domestic and foreign stakeholders before any decision is presented to the government.

Why should you care?

Electronic voting or e-voting involves the use of electronic means throughout voting procedures, be it in casting or counting votes.

E-voting has been explored by many countries and have its advantages.

It is believed to increase voter’s participation as it can be more accessible especially for those abroad.

It is also argued to be cost-effective in the long run when the use of materials and equipment typically used during elections such as ballot paper, polling stations, and even manpower is reduced or omitted.

India, a strong proponent of e-voting, have used the system since the 1999 general election and replaced the use of ballot papers in most parliamentary constituencies

In the latest 2019 Indian general election, the Election Commission of India deployed a total of 1.74 million voter-verified paper audit trail (VVPAT) units and 3.96 million electronic voting machines (EVM).

Historically, however, e-voting has been a contentious method as it could facilitate electoral fraud from rigging and hacking as well as the unreliability of the system.

A Stanford study found that during the United States’ Florida Congressional Elections in November of 2006, in one particular district, over 18,000 ballots cast on the EMV registered as no votes, raising suspicion.

In Norway, after a series of experiments for e-voting between 2011 to 2013, the government finally ended the trials as voters were concerned about their votes becoming public, thus undermining the democratic processes.

In Malaysia, e-voting was used in 2018 Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) leadership election and suffered many technical problems. There was a glitch in the system, and voting was delayed by almost two hours.