This article explains what electronic voting is, what types exist, how a complete process works from start to finish and in which contexts it is being implemented.
What is electronic voting
Electronic voting refers to any voting method that uses electronic devices to record, transmit or count ballots.
It is a broad concept that ranges from systems that assist in producing a physical ballot to platforms that allow remote voting over the internet.
It is important to understand that electronic voting does not necessarily mean eliminating paper or changing the logic of in-person voting.
Many of the most widely used systems today combine digital technology with a physical backup, precisely to preserve the verifiability and trust that electoral processes require.
For electoral authorities considering modernizing their elections, the relevant question is not whether to adopt technology, but which type of solution best fits their legal, operational and political context.
Types of electronic voting
There are two broad categories of electronic voting, distinguished by where the voter casts their ballot.
In-person electronic voting
The citizen goes to a polling place and uses an electronic terminal to select their vote. Within this category there are two models with significant differences.
The first is the Electronic Single Ballot (BUE). In this system, the vote is selected on a touchscreen but printed on a paper ballot that the voter verifies before placing it in the ballot box.
The same information is recorded on an RFID chip embedded in the ballot. The terminal never stores the vote. This model enables cross-audits between the printed and digital records, and the voter is the first auditor of their own vote.
The second is the electronic voting machine (DRE, for Direct Recording Electronic). In this case, the vote is recorded directly in the device's memory, without the voter necessarily having an independent physical ballot.
While it offers fast counting, the absence of a voter-verifiable paper trail has sparked debates about auditability in several jurisdictions.
Remote electronic voting
It allows voters to cast their ballot outside a polling place, generally from their personal device with an internet connection.
This modality is particularly relevant for diaspora elections, internal processes of political parties and unions, and consultations seeking to broaden participation.
Internet voting requires robust authentication systems, end-to-end encryption and verifiability mechanisms that guarantee ballot secrecy and the integrity of results.
Platforms such as Invote address these requirements with cryptographic protocols that ensure the vote is encrypted on the voter's device and only decrypted for the final count, so that no intermediary can learn its content.
How electronic voting works: the complete process
Although each system has particularities depending on the technology and the legal framework of each jurisdiction, a comprehensive electronic voting process covers four fundamental stages.
Voter management and check-in
Before casting a ballot, the voter must be identified and verified against the electoral roll.
Casting the vote
In the in-person modality with BUE, the voter selects their choices on the terminal, which prints the ballot with the vote in legible text and records the same information on the RFID chip.
The voter verifies both the printed and digital content, folds the ballot to preserve ballot secrecy and places it in a traditional ballot box. The terminal is ready for the next voter without retaining any data.
In the remote modality with Invote, the voter accesses a secure portal, authenticates through identity verification mechanisms and casts their vote, which is encrypted on their own device.
The system guarantees the integrity, secrecy and non-traceability of the ballot, and offers the voter the possibility of verifying that their vote was correctly received.
Counting and transmission of results
In in-person voting, ballots with a digital record can be read quickly by the terminals, speeding up the count.
In remote voting, encrypted votes are decrypted following cryptographic security protocols and consolidated into results that can be universally verified.
Audit and control
Every modern electronic voting system must be auditable. This means political parties, observers and independent experts can verify the correct functioning of the software, hardware and processes at every stage.
In the case of BUE, the dual paper and digital backup enables cross-audits. In Invote, cryptographic logs allow independent reviews without compromising ballot secrecy.
Where electronic voting is used
Electronic voting is implemented in diverse electoral contexts, from national elections to internal organizational processes.
Government elections
Several Latin American countries have incorporated electronic voting into their electoral processes. In 2023, Paraguay held the world's first presidential election using an electronic ballot, with BUE technology developed by COMITIA.
Argentine provinces such as Salta have implemented digital polling station management solutions in their legislative elections. These cases demonstrate that electronic voting can operate at scale in highly complex processes.
Remote voting for specific contexts
Internet voting has found concrete applications in diaspora elections, where citizens residing abroad can participate without depending on postal mail.
Also in internal processes of political parties, unions and professional associations, where in-person logistics are disproportionate to the number of voters.
Tierra del Fuego, in Argentina, held its first internet election in 2025 combining BUE and Invote.
Electoral authorities in the process of modernization
For electoral authorities seeking to modernize their processes, there are solutions that make it possible to digitize polling station management, the preliminary count and results transmission while keeping manual voting.
This gradual approach allows authorities, parties and citizens to become familiar with the technology before a full implementation.
What to consider before implementing electronic voting
The decision to adopt electronic voting requires evaluating several factors that go beyond technology.
Legal framework
The electoral regulations of each jurisdiction define which voting modalities are allowed, which audit requirements must be met and which bodies have the authority to approve the system. Any implementation must start from a detailed analysis of this framework.
Transparency and auditability
The chosen system must allow the voter to verify their vote, political parties to oversee the process and independent experts to audit the software and hardware.
The presence of a physical documentary backup, as in the BUE, significantly facilitates auditability and public trust.
Comprehensive security
Electoral security spans technical design, operational processes, independent validation and certifications.
Providers holding certifications such as ISO/IEC 27001 (information security) and ISO/IEC 27701 (privacy) offer a verifiable management framework that supports trust in the system beyond commercial promises.
Gradual implementation
Experience shows that the most successful adoption processes follow a staged approach: controlled pilots, training of polling station authorities and clear communication to citizens before scaling to larger elections.
Electronic voting as a tool for democratic modernization
Electronic voting does not seek to replace the logic of paper voting. It seeks to update it in the face of increasingly complex electoral processes, fragmented party systems, citizen demands for faster results and the need for traceability at every stage.
COMITIA addresses this challenge with an ecosystem of solutions covering the full electoral cycle, including BUE for verifiable in-person voting and Invote for secure remote voting. All designed to operate in real contexts, with the complexity that entails. This ecosystem also reflects a strong commitment to accessibility: Invote was recognized at the Zero Project Conference —an Essl Foundation initiative held at the United Nations— for its contribution to electoral accessibility, and BUE includes an assisted voting module for voters with disabilities.