Estonia's elections have been held online for more than 15 years, but it is still not possible to cast a vote using a mobile phone. Currently, this can only be done by using a computer.

While the development of m-voting started several years ago, implementation has been held back for several reasons, including the need to change the law.

Last week, the committee voted to delay the plan's rollout again. Members of the Rigiikogu discussed the issue on Monday afternoon and the main concerns were connected to auditing.

Committee's chair Ingrid Kullerkann said last week's vote was quite close, but for now, the prevailing view is that it is too early to use the app.

She said the most sensible and user-friendly way to distribute the mobile voting app would be through Google Play and Apple's App Store, but this creates extra hurdles.

"The National Electoral Committee must be 100 percent certain that this method of distribution can be audited. Not all committee members were convinced of that at this point," the chairman told ERR.

"I want to emphasize that we have no data indicating that voting by mobile phone is in any way insecure. Google and Apple's app stores are secure, but auditing the apps in those stores is not standard practice. Generally, app developers do not require it," Kullerkann noted.

The desktop app currently used can be verified by anyone who has sufficient knowledge and initiative, using the data published by the election service, she explained.

"Verifying the integrity of a mobile app distributed through an app store is more complicated for the voter and is instead done by the auditor following a guide prepared by the election service. That's why this audit process is especially important," Kullerkann explained.

The app will not be available for use in October's local elections, and it is currently unclear whether it could be introduced for the next parliamentary elections in 2027.

Under the Riigikogu Election Act, the Electoral Committee establishes, by decision before each election, the operating systems for which voting applications will be developed.

The committee chair added that since election organizers expect that authenticity should be verifiable not only by the app store owners but also by an auditor, this issue still needs further attention.

The digital solution was tested for the first time in May and more than 2,400 people took part. Kullerkann said the testing provided confidence that the app itself is reliable and user feedback was entirely positive.

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