There are three months left until the EP elections and the coalition hopes the law will be amended by then and voting via Smart-ID will be allowed alongside ID-card and mobile-ID.

Voting this way could change the number of people who vote online. At the moment, 700,000 people use Smart-ID, while 244,000 use Mobile-ID.

The bill needed to change the law passed its first reading at the end of last year, but more work needs to be done before it can progress further, said Constitutional Committee Chairman Hendrik Terras (Eesti 200).

"We are in for a long debate, because the law is relatively voluminous and the change is relatively large-scale," Terras said on Monday. "Legal clarity on the preparation of the m-voting [mobile voting] will be discussed at the meeting." 

Voting by smart device will not be possible this year, but the bill aims to change the rules for both Smart-ID and m-voting at the same time.

Not yet clear who will decide on the m-voting 

The most heated debate is no longer whether m-voting will be allowed, but how. 

"The main question at the moment is who will take the decision that we are ready for m-voting," said Terras and added that a fundamental solution exists today.  "We're in the final phase of getting all parties to confirm that we've got the same understanding. And the second question is how to write it into law." 

The Constitutional Commission proposed a list of operating systems, such as Windows, Linux, IOS and Android. The Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Ministry of Justice think the election organizer could decide on a specific operating system, but Terras supports a technology-neutral solution. 

"So that when the law is prepared, there is nothing specific that is used today and may not be used tomorrow," said Terras. "As the world is changing so fast, and for progressive people, it's important that the new opportunities that come along can be implemented immediately." 

Oliver Kask, head of the State Electoral Commission, said he supports allowing the organizer, for example, the National Electoral Committee or the State Electoral Office, to set the rules. He said it should also allow elections to be observable and that people can check their own votes. 

"To ensure that the system is sufficiently transparent and its credibility can be assessed by independent observers," he said, explaining the main concerns, and the why the commission has been skeptical about m-elections so far. 

The bill is also held back by bureaucracy – several hundred amendments have been submitted. This is a tactic the opposition parties have used to slow down the passage of bills and try and stop them from becoming law.

Terras, most of the proposals are helped by the recent decision of the Supreme Court, based on which similar proposals are linked together. 

"If there are 100 alternatives in the amendments, for example on the date of entry into force, they will not all be voted on separately," Terras said, but added that 40-50 substantial amendments have also been submitted to the bill. "I disagree with many of them, but maybe I agree with some. They definitely need to be reviewed." 

Bill passing in April could be too late

"GIn view of all this, I am not sure that the second and third readings will be completed by the end of March," added Terras. "But I assume that since the political will is there, it is possible that it will be adopted in March. Maybe in April." 

Kask said April would already be too late for the EP elections. He said voting by Smart-ID needs thorough testing before it can be used at an election.

"If the use of Smart-ID were to take place in the European elections without being adequately tested, this could lead to a situation in which, from election to election, there would be numerous problems with even a single operating system, or other technical obstacles of some kind, which would deter people from voting or significantly undermine people's confidence in the elections," Kask explained. 

Terras said the new alternative should not depend on when the law is adopted.

"In my opinion, testing should be done already," said Terras, suggesting that the political will to change the law exists. "It may be possible in the course of testing to identify further clarifications to be included in the draft text" he added.

Kask said lots of people are involved in elections, and it will take time to train them. 

"We don't want to end up in a situation where, during the elections, it turns out that somebody has been left untrained, or wrongly trained, or something is unclear. Issues should be resolved in good time," he stressed. 

Kask: Standards recommend changing law a year before election 

The head of the election service said international standards recommend changes are made no later than one year before an election is held. But, by the end of the month, the vote will be just over two months away.

Early preparation would help predict, among other things, how many people will vote online and how many will vote in person, Kask said. Turnout forecasts also help political parties adjust their campaigns. 

"Proposing changes in the run-up to an election that could have any impact on the outcome of the election or on voter behavior is a problem for a fair and impartial electoral system and for the conduct of elections by political parties," Kask said. 

If the law bill is not adopted by the end of March, then the new regulations should not be introduced before the EP elections. Smart-ID could then be used at the local elections.

"If it enters into force as a general rule, it will simply be a problem for us if we don't test it enough. But, of course, in a democracy, the legislator has the last word.," Kask said.

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