Presential electronic vote to be tested in the Évora district for the European elections

The Minister of Internal Administration, Eduardo Cabrita, stated that the European elections on 26 May are a good time to test the electronic vote in person, through a pilot project in the district of Évora.

"The next European elections are a good time to have this experience and seem to us the right time", said the Minister on presenting the pilot project of electronic voting in the constituency of Évora, which took place in this city in the Alentejo.

Eduardo Cabrita said that this election "has its own characteristics", as it takes place throughout the country, but with a single constituency, in addition to having "less political complexity" than the municipal and legislative ones.  

In this pilot project of electronic voting, in the European elections, 50 electronic polling stations will be made available in 23 parishes of the 14 municipalities of the district of Évora, which will operate independently of the 186 paper polling stations.

In the election, any of the more than 137 000 voters in this circle can vote in one of the 50 electronic polling stations.

Eduardo Cabrita explained that the district of Évora was chosen to test the electronic vote in person for "connection to the university" and for logistical issues and related to the number and characteristics of municipalities and parishes.

Modernisation of the electoral system

The Minister also said that face-to-face electronic voting is "a significant step" towards modernising the country's electoral system and that the changes aim to strengthen participation and combat abstention.

It will be "a first approximation to what, after the experience, in a few years - not yet this year, in the legislative elections, but in future elections - we would like to extend to the whole national territory, facilitating the participation".

In addition to the pilot project of face-to-face electronic voting in the district of Évora, as of the next elections, the number of voters will no longer be necessary, and identification will be made through the citizen card.

Visually impaired citizens will be able to exercise their right to vote through a matrix, citizens residing abroad will have access to automatic registration, if they so wish, and it will also be possible to choose the district capital where to vote the week before the elections.