The month shows a numerical expansion, but also that electronic participation is a broad, inclusive democracy that adapts to the needs and contexts of today's world.
The deployment of electronic voting, a phenomenon that had an unprecedented boost with the beginning of the pandemic, does not stop for EVoting. This is shown by our August numbers, which not only demonstrate that it was the month with the highest number of votes – 65, so far this year - but also already surpasses the total number of votes cast during 2020. In effect, the previous year there were a total of 424 ballots and in 2021 there have already been 427.
But August also demonstrates that the advance of this electronic form of decision-making not only has a numerical expansion, but also qualitative. Because this month, EVoting activity advanced in several directions that, at first sight, seem to be contradictory: the exploration of expansion to the United States, a 5-month electronic participation process in the rural commune of Loncoche, in the south of Chile, the inauguration of a new online monitoring system in the elections of the Chilean Chamber of Construction and the surpassing of 1,200 votes in the labor area.
In this respect, Tomás Barros, EVoting’s General Manager, pointed out that “the global changes generated by the pandemic have shown a reality of which we were certain, but which we thought would take longer to become evident: that electronic participation is a broad and inclusive form of democracy, and that it has the capability to adapt to the multiple needs and contexts of today’s world. Even more than the traditional form of participation, as it has already been demonstrated in Chile”.
Looking towards the United States
The latest version of the internationalization program GoGlobal, made possible by Corfo and Prochile, selected EVoting as one of the 43 startups of high technological impact that will support in its expansion path, in this case, to the United States. This was catalogued by its General Manager as “a tremendous opportunity to continue growing globally”. More information here.
Loncoche: Electronic voting in the countryside
This August we signed a five-month agreement with the municipality of Loncoche to conduct several consultations on communal matters. “There are areas where there is no internet access (…). In that sense, schools and colleges will be operating so people can participate without problems”, explains Susana Solís, the Mayor’s Chief of Staff. You can read the complete article here.
Online monitoring, more transparency
The regional elections of the Chilean Chamber of Construction released a new monitoring system, to be used by the Qualifying Boards, which allowed them to see in real time and directly who had voted and who had not. This allowed them to supervise the process of renewing their Boards of Directors and Regional Councilors in a more transparent way. Check the complete article here.
The labor sector uses electronic voting the most
Finally, in August, EVoting surpassed 1,200 votes in the labor area. That includes, among others, unions, professional associations, civil servants’ associations, and others. This is undoubtedly something to celebrate.