Supreme Court: e-voting source code must be published before test vote
The Supreme Court ruled that the State Electoral Office acted unlawfully by failing to publish the source code for e-voting before the start of the test vote in September, but the result has not been affected.
The case concerned a complaint filed by Märt Põder, who criticized the electoral office for failing to publish the source code of the electronic voting system and verification application in a timely manner.
The code was not made public before the test vote held on September 30, only a couple of days later on October 3.
According to the law, the source code must be published "before the election," which the Electoral Office and the Electoral Committee interpreted as referring to the start of e-voting on October 13.
Among other reasons, the Electoral Office justified the earlier non-publication by stating that the code is under constant development, and publishing interim versions could cause confusion and jeopardize trust in the elections.
The Supreme Court found in its decision published Monday that the source code and its accompanying documentation must be made public before the start of the test vote, making the Electoral Office's actions unlawful.
The court noted that the test vote plays an important role in preparing for the election and that e-voting cannot begin without a successful test vote. The compliance of the test vote with the law and technical documentation must be assessed by an auditor, while observers play only a passive role during electoral procedures.
At the same time, the court held that observers still play an important role in ensuring that electoral principles are upheld and that elections are ultimately democratic. Observers can fully exercise their rights only if they have access, before the test vote, to the requirements that electronic voting must meet.
The Supreme Court acknowledged that, in determining the time for publishing the source code, one must consider the potential risks involved, but also the rights of observers, public interest, and the principle of transparency in electoral procedures. Publishing the source code does not preclude later changes, provided those changes are public and clearly traceable.
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Editor: Valner Väino, Helen Wright
