The Netherlands, with its progressive mindset and reliance on tech, seems like a perfect candidate for electronic voting. However, there are a number of reasons why the Dutch still prefer to vote with a red pencil. ✏️
Speaking to NU.nl, Electoral Council spokesperson Margriet Bokhorst explains that traditional voting is the “only way to guarantee controllability, transparency and voting secrecy.”
With hacking on the rise, simplicity is key
A paper published by Dutch Electoral Council seems to echo Bokhorst’s sentiments.
The Council stated that “voting secrecy could not be sufficiently guaranteed with voting machines”, as electronic voting increases the risk of outside interference.
With a potential backdoor open to malicious hackers and others who want to skew election results (such as foreign countries), the overall reliability of electronic voting results is thrown into question.
“The chance of that is small, but its impact would be huge.” Electoral Council member Herbert Bos told NU.nl. “Do we want to take that risk?”
Traditional voting keeps things anonymous
Another big factor standing in the way of the Dutch embracing electronic voting is the sheer lack of anonymity.
In order to make a selection, prospective voters would need to log into a computer with their personal details. Whilst the likelihood of this information being snatched up by nefarious parties is small, it’s never quite zero.
“Even if the computer is not hacked and contains no bugs, it emits signals,” Bos explained. “In the past, researchers have shown that it even allows you to see remotely what someone voted.”
However, some tech support is on the cards
Although the risks associated with electronic voting may have the Dutch uncertain about ditching their red pencils, they may be embracing some tech support: counting machines.
The Electoral Council report stated that they are weighing the pros and cons of rolling out counting machines to aid the voting process, though they likely won’t play a part in the current election.
Do you think the Netherlands should switch to electronic voting? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below!