The Principle of Secret Voting in the Constitution of the Republic of Poland and the Possibility of Implementing Popular Voting with the Use of E-voting Based on Blockchain Technology

The principle of secret voting is one of the basic elements of the Polish electoral system. Its character does not raise many doubts in the literature on the subject. It seems, however, that secrecy of voting may be one of the main challenges in the context of plans to implement Internet voting in universal suffrage. Many scientists place their hope in blockchain. It is a technology that ensures high security. On the basis of this article, I consider whether blockchain – due to its characteristics – can be used in Poland as a technology enabling voting via the Internet. I pay particular attention to the principle of secret voting, which may be difficult to implement with the use of this solution.

Information and communication technologies impact many aspects of the contemporary political life. A consequence of the use of ICT in politics is undoubtedly the evolution of democratic institutions and procedures. Modern technologies find their application as tools for exercising democratic power. This is why their importance is constantly increasing. The changes that follow application of ICT and their consequences are especially interesting subject to study and research. This article aims at answering the question how modern technologies (mainly the Internet) affect the processes of contemporary democracy and what might be the consequences of such changes. The deliberations shall concern the context of political market, where three processes between three main actors (politicians/political institutions, electorate, and the media) occur: informing, communicating, and voting. ICT influence these processes by quickening supplementing, and facilitating three various types of activities: sharing information, involvement in the political debate, and participation in the political decisionmaking processes. In the article, the author also pays attention to election silence as a phenomena functioning in the background of elections (which are a very significant element of the political market). Examples provided in the article come mainly from the practises and experiences of the Polish political life.

Electronic voting has attracted much interest recently. One of the European, and perhaps even global leaders in the application of electronic voting procedures into elections is Estonia. The citizens of that small European country have had the possibility of voting online since 2005. The goal of this study is to provide a theoretically focused and empirically grounded analysis of the use of electronic voting (that is one of the instruments of e-democracy) in Estonia. This paper does not intend to cover all the details of the country’s experience with e-voting. Its coverage is limited to providing data on the influence of electronic voting on the final turnout in certain elections in Estonia. This study investigates the consequences of Internet voting in local, national and European parliamentary elections in Estonia. In particular, the analysis aims to determine whether this new form of voting could increase turnout.