On 2 December 2024, the results of the study "Risk assessment and feasibility study on alternative forms of voting in post-war elections in Ukraine with a focus on internet voting" were presented to members and representatives of the Ukrainian Parliamentary Committee on Organisation of State Power, Local Self-Government, Regional Development and Urban Planning, as well as members and representatives of the Central Election Commission.

Development and scope of the study

The study was conducted with the support of the Council of Europe* in response to the request of the Ukrainian Parliamentary Committee on Organisation of State Power, Local Self-Government, Regional Development and Urban Planning.

It aims to assess the feasibility and risks of introducing internet voting in post-war elections in Ukraine focusing on legal, organisational as well as technical aspects to be taken into account when introducing internet voting.

The study included the conduct of desk study, series of online interviews as well as consultations with representatives of profile parliamentary committees/sub-committees, Central Election Commission, civil society organisations and expert community.

Its conclusions and recommendations are based on legal and factual analysis of Ukraine’s current situation, international legal standards and recommendations of the Council of Europe, current scientific and technical expertise, as well as on existing experience of introduction and use of internet voting in other countries.

Key findings of the study:

• In the context of legal and organisational perspectives, the study concludes inter alia that if the constitution forbids or limits voting from an unsupervised environment, introduction of internet voting would require constitutional amendments. The Constitution of Ukraine does not provide such a discretion for the parliament to introduce voting from an uncontrolled environment during an extended voting period (more than one day).
• Frequent changes to the  electoral legislation in Ukraine and the untested new electoral system for parliamentary elections, introduced by the Electoral Code in 2019, should be considered when envisaging any other future implementation of new instruments, such as remote voting or internet voting.
• Internet voting, if ever introduced, should be considered beyond the next electoral cycle to allow adequate time for preparations, testing and piloting.
• Ukraine has managed to conduct several elections without serious questions about their democratic nature and openness being raised either domestically or by international partners. This achievement holds a significant value. The risks associated with introducing i-voting are extremely high. Ukraine is not prepared for such an initiative, either legislatively or organisationally. Even piloting the relevant tools would require the end of the state of war and a return to normal political life free from security, informational or other threats to the sovereignty of Ukraine.
• From the technical perspective, the study concludes that Ukraine faces a combination of risks seemingly higher than most of other countries. Ukraine needs a robust system preventing against external threats, as well as against vote buying and voter coercion. An i-voting system would require adequate protection of the voting server against attacks or corruption.
• A secure internet voting system would require stringent verifiabibility criteria as cast-as-intended, recorded-as-cast, tallied-as-recorded, and eligibility verifiability, while ensuring resistance to vote-buying and coercion. None of the exisiting internet-voting systems fully satisfies these criteria.

*The study was prepared in response to a request from the Committee of Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on Organisation of State Power, Local Self-Government, Regional Development and Urban Planning with the support of the Council of Europe project "Supporting democratic post-war elections in Ukraine", implemented within the framework of the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine "Resilience, Recovery and Reconstruction" for 2023-2026.