Andorra's CASS Introduces Electronic Voting to Boost Low Election Turnout

The Andorran Social Security Fund (CASS) is introducing electronic voting for its June elections to renew the board of administration, aiming to boost historically low turnout among affiliates.

All insured individuals are eligible to vote in the elections, held every four years to fill four seats: two for salaried workers, one for business owners, and one for retirees. Participation has remained minimal, with only 2.9% of voters taking part in 2022 despite ten lists competing for the salaried seats. The winners in that category secured 245 and 225 votes respectively, equivalent to 3.4% of the eligible electorate.

To address this, CASS has launched an international tender for a technological solution that supports three voting methods: in-person, mail-in deposit (already available at Social Security offices in the days before election day), and a new web-based electronic option. Bids were due by Monday.

A prior legal analysis confirmed the feasibility of electronic voting, provided it upholds universal, free, equal, direct, and secret suffrage, single votes per person, process integrity, and data protection regulations. Voters would access the system via a link on the CASS website, authenticating with the government's digital certificate. The platform must allow blank votes and accommodate voters eligible in one, two, or all three electoral colleges.

The tender specifies real-time vote tallying and safeguards to prevent duplicate voting across channels. This marks Andorra's first use of electronic voting in such elections, with the focus on enhancing accessibility.