Modern society is based on the ideas and concepts created by the civilizations of the past. Ethics, morality, and the logic of the structure of society have worried humanity for a long time. Over the thousands of years of the history of civilization as such, many peoples have created models and concepts designed to enable people to fairly distribute levers of power and resources. One of the most ancient, and at the same time, the most represented in its renewed form in modern times, the method of organizing society is democracy. The main ideas of democracy as an institution are the legitimacy of society as the only source of power, its self-government for the common good, and, most importantly, representatives of power are elected by the people. Elections are an important and distinctive feature of democracy that distinguishes this institution and type of social structure against the background of other systems of power. However, as can be understood from the very concept of elections, their process is associated with several debatable issues related to ethics end policies.
Ethics is an important element of democracy in general and elections in particular. This comes from the fact that the responsibility and participation in them are taken by the people, consisting of different persons with different views and ideas. Thus, ethical behavior is essential for fair elections in any egalitarian system. Ethics embodies the aspirations of society and the defining model of its behavior (Lever & Poama, 2020). The standards of ethical conduct are different and depend on each society’s social or political context. Nevertheless, there are general basic principles for the conduct of free and fair elections. For example, those involved in the administration and conduct of elections must obey the state and society’s constitution and laws, which define the scope of their powers. The administration and officials of electoral bodies must fulfill their duties in the public interest and not use their position for personal gain or the benefit of their supporters.
For the electoral bodies and their management to function for the good of society and not for their selfish purposes, there are certain restrictions. Often, electoral systems and principles of ethical behavior are formulated in a code of conduct, which details the rules of conduct for officials and voters. Codes of conduct differ from state to state and electoral system, but there are usually codes for political parties, lobbyists, media, and accredited observers. And crucially, unique codes included in a system of laws or regulations are binding. They indicate fines and methods of punishment in case of violation of regulations and instructions. Also, codes are often standards of conduct that are voluntarily followed and are the result of negotiations between stakeholders. The ethical behavior of voters is governed by the country’s laws on the protection of citizens and property, and the legal system obliges citizens to comply with the rules of this behavior. Thus, the ethics of elections consists of norms and rules that regulate and control their fair organization and conduct.
However, electoral ethics is a kind of theory of how the law should be implemented. On this basis, there are electoral policies that embody the practical application of the ideas of fair democratic elections. The electoral policy institutions and bodies are responsible for developing and implementing the moral course of electoral policy and the policy of decision-making during elections. The scope of their powers differs from country to country, but in each country, these bodies make decisions regarding the administration of the electoral process. In some cases, electoral policy bodies are involved in the development of electoral legislation and overseeing elections. The definition and implementation of the democratic institutions regulated by ethics and regulations are carried out by election policy differently. For example, electoral politicians consider the issues of freedom and competitiveness of elections, the reasonableness of their dates, and whether the legal and institutional framework guarantees the same treatment and equal opportunity for all participants. These are just some of the possible methods of regulation within electoral politics directed by ethics. A vivid example of the problem associated with them is the voting system, particularly its modern form – electronic voting.
Electronic voting is an evolution of the concepts of democratic institutions of the past, proclaiming the use of modern computational technologies of public communication to implement the electoral process. Technology has been used for a relatively long time in democratic societies. More precisely, as a rule, separate electronic voting technologies are used. For example, in the Western world, electronic vote-counting systems have been used since the 1960s, using punched cards that appeared at that time for storing and processing data. In turn, technologies of the twenty-first century are not limited only to counting and sorting but also to the direct filling of ballots during voting. Elections using computers, touch screens, and barcode scanners have been carried out for more than ten years, and besides the accessibility and convenience for modern citizens, they have other advantages. Electronic ballots are also printed and allow citizens of one country to participate in the most important civil political process, elections, without being directly on the territory of the state itself.
It should be borne in mind that electronic voting as an idea, despite its effectiveness, also has several problems. The main ones are excessive confidence in the equipment, which implies the need for constant rechecking and the possibility of falsification. All these problems are closely related to both the technical and conceptual aspects of e-voting. To investigate this problem, it is worth considering the practical application of electronic voting in the state where the idea was most widespread, namely California.
Reference
Lever, A., & Poama, A. (2020). The Routledge handbook of ethics and public policy (1st ed.). Routledge.