OTTAWA – The Digital Governance Standards Institute (DGSI) is excited to announce the publication of CAN/DGSI 111-1:2024, Online Electoral Voting – Part 1: Implementation of Online Voting in Canadian Municipal Elections. This standard marks a significant step in online voting by specifying technical design requirements for online voting services and best practices for election administrators implementing online voting in Canadian municipal elections.
Since 2003, the use of online voting in some Canadian municipal elections has been expanding rapidly. While some jurisdictions use online voting to supplement traditional paper-based voting, a growing minority are moving towards fully digital elections, employing online voting either with a traditional paper ballot option, alone or in combination with telephone ballots.
Municipalities have increasingly moved towards online voting to boost voter turnout, improve convenience and accessibility, and achieve administrative efficiencies such as faster results and reduced ballot errors. Online voting has proven particularly beneficial for marginalized communities and absentee voters, breaking down barriers to democratic participation. Online voting providers can now use this document to assess their current practices and service levels provided to municipalities in Canada.
“The creation of this important standard marks a turning point in the governance of Canada’s digital elections. Canada has one of the highest uses of online voting worldwide, yet to date overarching standards have been absent. As the first national voting technology standard in Canada, these technical requirements and administrative best practices create a baseline that will set the tone for the governance of online voting municipally and at higher levels of government into the future. It also provides an example for other jurisdictions.”
– Dr Nicole Goodman, Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, Brock University
CAN/DGSI 111-1:2024 emphasizes the importance of designing online voting systems with the highest levels of trust, security, privacy, and transparency. It advocates for a standardized approach to maintain voter confidence in both the democratic process and the technology itself.
To view and download the published standard, visit CAN/DGSI 111-1.
For media inquiries:
Darryl Kingston
Executive Director
Digital Governance Standards Institute
darryl.kingston@dgc-cgn.org
About the Digital Governance Standards Institute
The Digital Governance Standards Institute develops digital technology governance standards fit for global use. The Institute works with experts, as well as national and global partners and the public to develop national standards that reduce risk to Canadians and Canadian organizations adopting and using innovative digital technologies in today’s digital economy. The Institute is an independent division of the Digital Governance Council. To learn more about the organization and its initiatives, visit www.dgc-cgn.org or contact info@dgc-cgn.org.