Trust, e-voting and political legitimacy

In Germany, whose politics is currently plagued by lack of transparency, growing political apathy, the deteriorating quality of public services and corruption, discussion about reforming the electoral system attracted attention on how elections are administered and what is – or may be – the role of technology in this process. The subject of voting systems is holding the stage, and has been under intense scrutiny by policymakers, interest groups, and the public in general. Aleksandra Sowa focuses on the practical steps and applied techniques that can be used to maximize the democratic potential of the new technologies in the electoral process. However, her perception of the topicwill be quite different from the currently popular treatment of evoting. Present discussions and research focus on the technical aspects of privacy, data protection or data integrity, suggesting that IT-security instruments and sanctions are sufficient to assure the democratic rights of electors and that the election results are true and accurate. The author's suggestion is that not security as such but moreover voters’ trust and its consequences, e. g. increasing interest in politics, participation and political activity and thus guaranteeing legitimacy of the political power, political leaders and the political system as such, is amajor asset to the government.