Internet voting

We’ve been interested in Internet voting for several years, with the aim of making voting more accessible. Our pilot project was aligned with various other measures designed to facilitate access to voting. Our approach was intended to be cautious and gradual. As with any pilot project, this trial was subject to an agreement between Élections Québec, the Ministère des Affaires municipales et de l’Habitation and the participating municipalities.

Five fundamental principles

Our approach was based on five fundamental principles.

1. Accessibility
   An accessible election system is fair and open to all electors. The right to vote is exercised under consistent conditions, free from discrimination. All electors can exercise this right independently.
2. Free exercise of the right to vote
   Electors can exercise the right to vote without influence or constraint, and with complete freedom and independence of mind, belief, opinion, and will. Internet voting did not replace other voting methods; it was an additional option.
3. Secrecy of the vote
   Voters’ choices remain anonymous. Votes cannot be traced to an individual elector.
4. Integrity of the process and results
   Election results properly reflect the will of the electorate. An individual elector can only cast the number of votes allowed by law. The elector’s identity is verified. His or her vote cannot be changed.
5. Transparency of the process
   Electors and other election stakeholders can monitor the integrity of each step in the voting process. They understand election proceedings and can confirm that effective verification mechanisms are in place.

Outline of the pilot project

The pilot project was based on four main guidelines.

1. Centralised administration
   Each municipality is responsible for its own elections. However, in order to ensure the process operated smoothly and to coordinate efforts, Élections Québec was responsible for selecting the supplier and for implementing and administering the solution. The chosen digital solution had to meet a number of security and accessibility requirements.
2. Additional option
   Electors who could have voted by Internet would also have had access to all other voting options. They could therefore have chosen to vote by Internet or in person.
3. Six additional voting days
   Internet voting would have been offered over two three-day voting periods. During these periods, it would have been offered continuously, 24 hours a day. It would not have been available on advance polling days or on election day.
4. Limited electorate
   Internet voting would have been available in certain districts or boroughs of 21 municipalities with populations of 20,000 or more. Some 300,000 voters would have been able to try out Internet voting.

Participating municipalities

We would have tested Internet voting in 21 Québec municipalities. We chose municipalities with a population of 20,000 or more, spread across 15 different administrative regions of Québec and with a variety of profiles. This would have given us an overall picture of the Internet voting experience in different regions.

By offering Internet voting only in certain districts or boroughs of the participating municipalities, we wished to limit the number of electors who could use it in order to take a cautious and gradual approach.

The following municipalities agreed to participate in the project:

• Alma
• Baie-Comeau
• Belœil
• Drummondville
• Gatineau
• Granby
• Joliette
• Laval
• Lévis
• Magog
• Mirabel
• Montréal
• Québec
• Rimouski
• Rouyn-Noranda
• Sainte-Julie
• Saint-Georges
• Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu
• Saint-Lazare
• Terrebonne
• Trois-Rivières

Call for tenders

On October 16, 2023, Élections Québec issued a call for tenders to acquire an Internet voting solution. To be selected, the solution had to meet over a hundred requirements relating to features, reliability, accessibility, and cybersecurity. This call for tenders was open to Canadian and international suppliers.

For an overview of our tender requirements, read the news item (in French) we published on this subject.