Over three days this week, a total of 2,430 people participated in the public testing of the prototype mobile version of Estonia's "Valimisrakendus" online voting app, according to a press release.

The aim of the test, which began Tuesday morning and wrapped up on Thursday evening, was to collect user feedback on the app's reliability, ease of use and vote collection service.

Testing was led by the Information System Authority (RIA) in cooperation with the State Electoral Office (RVT).

According to the RIA, Estonians from 29 countries across several continents took part in the test, including Estonia, Finland, Luxembourg, Belgium, Spain, Sweden, the U.K., France, Switzerland, Germany, Norway, the U.S., Serbia, Australia, Poland, Georgia, Denmark, Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Israel, Italy, Lithuania, Latvia, Mauritius, Colombia, Botswana, Romania and Turkey.

A total of 1,667 men and 763 women took part in the testing, with all age groups from 15 and up represented.

The 45-54 age group was best represented with 645 participants, followed by the 35-44 age group with 631 and the 25-34 group with 425 participants. Least represented, meanwhile, were the 16-17 age group with 29 and the 75+ age group with just 20 participants.

In all, 204 testers checked whether their test votes had been transmitted successfully, a step that required the use of a second smart device to scan a QR code displayed after submitting a vote.

Feedback to guide future app development

This week's public test helped evaluate the app's performance on various devices and among a variety of users, providing developers with valuable input for future updates.

More than 1,000 users submitted feedback during the three-day testing period, sharing both positive experiences and suggestions for improvement. Most users described the app as convenient, simple and intuitive, but also identified aspects that could be made more user-friendly.

Feedback from this week's test will be compiled, analyzed and used to guide the app's further development.

The RIA noted that the public testing format proved highly valuable, offering direct feedback from end users with a wide range of technical skills and backgrounds.

Two decades of online voting

Estonia has two decades of experience with online voting, having become the first country in the world to offer it nationally in local elections in 2005. Online voting was first used in Riigikogu elections in 2007 and in European Parliament elections in 2009.

While mobile — or smart device-based — online voting won't yet be available in this fall's local elections, this week's testing may help pave the way for its introduction ahead of the next Riigikogu elections in 2027 and European Parliament elections in 2029.

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