Innovating Democracy – Secure, verifiable internet voting: Lessons learned from Estonia

For over ten years, Mike Summers has worked as a senior executive for technology companies and has focussed his efforts in assisting governments introduce technology to support the electoral process. Mike blends a passion for technology and improving democracy to make voting more inclusive, accessible, secure and transparent for all.

With participation in governmental elections experiencing record decline, the act of voting, as we know it today needs faces an uncertain future. With global citizens living more mobile lifestyles, the traditional model of attending a polling station to cast ballots using pencil and paper seems at odds with the way that technology has penetrated all other aspects of daily life. This presentation examines the role that technology can play in terms of strengthening the democratic process by offering voters additional voting channels to vote and a mechanism to help tackle declining voter turnout, reduce fraud and offer greater accessibility.