EVoting's general manager expressed his surprise and great satisfaction with the explosive numbers of 2020: 421 votes, 48% more than in 2019.
2020 was marked by worldwide changes in people’s behaviors and habits as a result of the pandemic. One of which, both nationally and internationally, was in the field of e-democracy, an area in which EVoting was at the forefront.
“During 2020 we had very significant growth in the number of votes, reaching record figures compared to 2019,” said Tomás Barros, general manager. He added that, in addition, the company diversified its service offering, which was crystallized in the four platforms it offers today to the market: EVoters, EHolders, EAssemblies and EParticipation.
“The global situation forced us, like everyone else, to make an effort to adapt to the new context, that is, to a technological but also cultural transformation. This had positive results for us, because it required us to take a deeper and longer-term view of the future and to innovate accordingly,” he added.
He added that this evolution was expressed in an expansion of our client portfolio, covering new segments, as well as in a successful incursion into the international arena, where the company consolidated its presence in six Latin American countries. “In just a few months, we carried out electronic voting and assemblies in Mexico, Perú, Argentina, Costa Rica and Guatemala, in addition to Chile,” he noted.
As for our electronic voting platform, EVoters, the year ended with a total of 421 votes, which meant an increase of 48% in comparison to 2019, when there were 284 processes. “Quite a record in the 7 years of EVoting’s existence. I remember that in our first two years of operation, 2013 and 2014, we did 9 ballots in total and we were very happy,” he adds smiling.
One of the characteristics of electronic voting is that it increases participation. This was reaffirmed this year as one of the advantages by important clients. Juan Álvarez, President of the Walmart Workers’ Federation, highlighted the surprising 97% participation, equivalent to more than 9,800 workers, in the vote on the company’s latest offer made by his union organization.
The unprecedented percentages of voters in their respective processes was also highlighted by the Chilean Chamber of Construction, whose 11 Regional Boards of Directors were renewed with electronic voting and obtained a percentage of participation much higher than those recorded in previous years, reaching 84% of the electoral roll. The Chilean Medical Association, meanwhile, described as “historic” the number of votes cast in its last national elections, equivalent to 68.76% of those eligible to vote. The same phenomenon occurred in the numerous elections for the renewal of authorities that different universities held with EVoting this year. The last example was seen in the recent elections of December 15 for authorities of the University of Santiago, held for the first time with electronic voting, where there were 47 open ballots, in which the election of deans had a 97% participation, that of directors a 92%, and that of councilors an 88%.
Happy numbers for electronic democracy.