OECD Network on Fiscal Relations across Levels of Government, 16th Annual Meeting, 3-4 December 2020 – Virtual Meeting

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Overview of Council of Europe documents
addressing the impact of the pandemic and the use of digital
technologies in elections
Background Document for the 16th
Meeting of the OECD Network on
Fiscal Relations across Levels of Government, 3-4 December 2020
Directorate General of Democracy,
Council of Europe
Irrespective of the outbreak of COVID-19, various Council of Europe bodies are working on digitalisation
and elections or, more in general, on the impact of digital transformation on democracy. In some member
States, the outbreak of the pandemic has given a new impetus to the debate on e-voting and the use of
digital technologies in the electoral process (as mentioned in the OECD Fiscal Federalism Working Paper
on Digitalisation Challenges and Opportunities, de Mello and Ter-Minassian, 2020). Changes of this kind,
however, need attentive consideration and an inclusive political dialogue to enjoy citizens’ trust and to be
in line with Council of Europe standards. In its work, the Council of Europe does not promote the
digitalisation of the electoral process; it aims at setting out the safeguards to be introduced to ensure that
e-voting is in line with the fundamental principles underpinning free and fair elections. In the context of the
pandemic, the Council of Europe shares knowledge and exchange of good practice on how/whether to
hold elections during a pandemic/state of emergency.
1. Digitalisation and the electoral process
The Council of Europe and its member states have been discussing the use of digital technologies in
elections for the past twenty years. The first Recommendation on e-voting was adopted in 2004 and
updated in 2017, extending the definition of e-voting to also include the e-counting of paper ballots.
Recommendation CM/Rec(2017)5 is the only international instrument which offers guidance on how
to translate the principles of the European electoral heritage into requirements for e-voting systems. The
principles include universal, equal, free, secret and direct suffrage, the organisation of elections at regular
intervals, respect for fundamental rights, regulatory levels and stability of electoral law, and procedural
guarantees. The recommendation contains 49 standards and detailed requirements to harmonise the
implementation of the principles of democratic elections and referendums when using e-voting, thus
building trust and confidence of voters in their respective voting process and methods. An Explanatory

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Memorandum and Guidelines for the implementation of the Recommendation CM/Rec(2017)5 were also
developed. Although the recommendation only deals with e-voting and e-counting, its standards may be
considered when envisaging digital solutions in the context of the electoral process.
In 2019, the European Committee on Democracy and Governance (CDDG) held a review meeting on
the implementation of the Recommendation CM/Rec(2017)5 on standards for e-voting, collecting
information on recourse to e-voting in member States, including enablers and challenges.
The CDDG confirmed the added value of the Recommendation for countries that were considering
introducing e-voting and for those which had e-voting already in place. It concluded that there was a need
to constantly review the implementation of the Recommendation and that it would hold another review
meeting in 2021.
At the moment the CDDG is drafting Guidelines of the Committee of Ministers on the use of new
technologies in the different stages of the electoral cycle, including voter registration, transmission and
tabulation of results, etc. This text will be complementary to Recommendation CM/Rec(2017)5 and will be
finalised before the end of 2021.
In recent years, the CDDG has been devoting increasing attention to the interplay between technology and
democracy. At the beginning of 2020, the CDDG published a Handbook on e-democracy, to help all the
stakeholders of the democratic process to make the best use digital technologies to strengthen democracy
and governance. The Handbook contains guidance and case studies on e-voting and use of digital
technologies to support elections and referendums, and a number of case studies.
At its recent meeting in November 2020, the CDDG discussed the Preliminary Study on the Impact of
Digital Transformation on Democracy and Good Governance. The Study includes a chapter on free and
fair elections, which are the cornerstone of representative democracy. Digital technologies form an
integral and important part of the information eco-system that voters rely on. The chapter covers also
online media and electoral campaigns. The constant and simultaneous flux of information across
multiple online platforms represents a huge challenge for the surveillance of behaviour and resources
during political campaigns. Moreover, the anonymous creation of content hampers the identification and
attribution of responsibilities for illegal online behaviours. The growing use of bots and trolls in social media,
as well as the massive distribution of false information, seriously damage equality of arms in the electoral
competition and allow for external actors to manipulate public discourse and the citizens’ voting
preferences. Furthermore, the algorithms that govern search engines and social media may foster a partial
and sometimes illusory comprehension of politics and democracy. Other issues covered in the study
include voting applications and microtargeting.
Furthermore, the Council of Europe Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission) is
working on the Principles on the use of digital technologies in elections, which should be finalised in
December 2020. The Venice Commission has stressed that provisions for the use of technology need to
be accompanied by detailed elaborations in the law on the technical solutions used and the procedures to
be followed. These should cover, amongst others, aspects related to procurement, testing, auditing, and
public access to the technologies. They emphasise that stating general principles is not enough when
regulating digital solutions for elections if there is no guarantee that these general principles will be
implemented with specific rules that are fundamental to genuinely democratic elections. It is thus
necessary that regulations are drafted in a detailed and accountable manner.
The Council of Europe Division of Elections and Civil Society aims to promote the participation of
citizens in decision-making, whether directly or through elections, and to promote free and fair elections.
Relevant publications of this Division include “Digital technologies in elections: questions, lessons learned,
perspectives” which provides an overview of the international legal instruments as well as issues and
principles for regulatory framework which should be taken into account by legislators and election
management bodies when introducing digital solutions in the electoral process. The publication also
addresses issues of trust, transparency, accountability, and cybersecurity. Trust is often mentioned when

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discussing the use of digital solutions in elections; it is considered as a precondition to introducing digital
solutions in elections. However, the introduction of technology cannot resolve a lack of trust in the electoral
system.
2. Holding elections during the COVID-19 pandemic
Issues arising from COVID-19 are covered in the Secretary General’s Toolkit for Member states
on Respecting democracy, rule of law and human rights in the framework of the COVID-19 health crisis. It
notes, in particular, that during the state of emergency, holding elections and referendums may be
problematic.
In its draft report on Democratic Governance and the Response to COVID-19, the CDDG addresses the
issue of elections. The decision whether to hold or postpone elections and referendums during a pandemic
requires a difficult balancing exercise. The legitimacy of elected mandates depends on holding free and
fair elections at regular intervals; on the other hand, protecting public health, providing a level-playing field
for candidates to campaign and ensuring that the conduct of the vote is not only free of irregularities but
also safe for all those who take part in the process are elements to be taken into account.
In 2020, the Council of Europe Congress of Local and Regional Authorities has adopted a
Recommendation on local and regional elections in major crisis situations. The Congress refers to the
COVID-19 pandemic as a perfect example of crisis situation that shows the difficulties states and electoral
authorities may be confronted with regarding the decision to hold or postpone elections, at all levels of
government, in the face of risks to the life, health and security of the population. It acknowledges that not
all electoral standards can be kept in major crisis situations including pandemics, natural disasters or
armed conflicts. It also stresses that a minimum core of electoral principles have to be upheld at all times
for elections, including at local and regional level, to be meaningful and to enjoy the trust of the public in a
democratic, pluralistic and accountable political environment. The Recommendation invites member states
to use the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic as an opportunity to gain insight and gather experience with a
view to identifying best practice examples as regards elections to be held in exceptional circumstances in
the domestic context.
The Venice Commission has also published the Report on the measures taken in the EU member States
as a result of the Covid-19 crisis and their impact on Democracy, the Rule of Law and Fundamental Rights.
It contains a chapter on elections, and discusses questions such as: Should elections be held during a
period of emergency? Should elections be postponed? References to digitalisation/e-voting can be found
at paragraphs 106-110.