Electronic voting and the replacement of voting documents with new ID cards should be introduced by the 2023 general election, the Nationalist Party has said.
The Labour Party agrees with these upgrades, but hopes they do not jeopardise voter anonymity.
The two parties were asked for their reaction to a report in The Sunday Times of Malta last week in which Electoral Commissioner Joe Church said that cutting-edge technology would be tested at the next round of local council and MEP elections in 2019.
A PN spokesman said the party was in favour holding a test run in 2019. “We need to allow for an institutional learning curve and then discuss the way forward,” he said.
One would have to ensure that an electronic system does not leave any recorded traceability of votes cast by individuals
He added that any changes to the electoral system would have to be made through “consensus between all parties”.
The Labour Party, too, is in favour of using advanced technology to simplify and improve the electoral process. However, it was important, a spokesman said, that any technological upgrades would not prejudice the integrity of votes.
“For example, one would have to ensure that an electronic system, while accountable, does not leave any recorded traceability of votes cast by individuals,” the PL spokesman said.
The Electoral Commission has already issued international calls for expressions of interest for an electronic system to be developed. It would retain the current ballot system, in which voters list their preferences by writing numbers. However, these sheets of paper would be scanned and the counting done by computer software rather than an army of counters. This means the full results would be out in a matter of hours.
While this is not meant as a cost cutting exercise, the reform would cut the €4 million election price tag in half.
The PL spokesman said Labour backs the international call for expressions of interest.
As for the replacement of laminated voting documents with the new ID cards, as also proposed, the PL said it fully supports this measure, with the government having ensured the new IDs were handed out to the whole country for this reason.