Any consideration to introduce e-voting must enhance voting process: Schreiber

CAPE TOWN - Minister of Home Affairs Leon Schreiber said any consideration to introduce electronic voting must enhance both the voting process and experience.  

Schreiber said there will be no point in considering a transition if a digital system turns out to be as cumbersome as a paper-based one and doesn’t reduce queues.  

ALSO READ: IEC re-starts conversation on feasibility of introducing electronic voting in SA

The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) is hosting a conference in Cape Town this week to discuss the benefits, pitfalls, and experiences of electronic voting.  

Schreiber said these discussions should have the end user in mind.  

“There is nothing more dangerous, frankly, for our elections and by extension our democracy, than voters who turn away from a voting booth, than voters who lose confidence in the system through which they are supposed to govern the country in which they live, and that is why we must always keep those end users—the people—first, even as we embrace technology.”  

Schreiber said the digitisation of his department and the planned introduction of a digital identity by 2029 will also play a role in improving the IEC’s processes.  

“The truth is, as much as the technology may be impressive, the digitalisation of government is not an end in and of itself. It’s a means towards delivering better services, enhancing security, and ensuring the user of any specific service walks away satisfied.”