An electronic referendum provides a less time-consuming option of casting a vote for citizens; it can also be performed without attending an official voting place. It has also been assumed to lead to a higher voter turnout and an increase in the citizens’ political engagement; however, this is not always the case. E-referendum made the referendum voting more accessible to those living abroad and to disabled people.
The Italian seaside town Ladispoli held three e-referendums in 2004 regarding the protection of archaeological sites, participatory budgeting, and the involvement of immigrants in political life. It was part of "E-poll": a European Union project dedicated to the experimentation of electronic voting. This project also took place in the other four Italian cities: Avellino, Campobasso, Specchia, and Cremona. In the case of Ladispoli, the vote was open to all citizens and immigrants.[3]
Lately, in 2005, e-referendum was also experimented in Tallinn, the Estonian capital city. In the same year, Spain and France experienced the e-referendum, adopting the remote i-Voting and special tools, respectively.
Following the European experience with e-referendum. Switzerland developed different electronic voting systems, such as the Geneva E-voting System or the Zurich E-voting System. Switzerland could enable referendums via the Internet at local or federal levels.
During the 2002 referendum on the Treaty of Nice, Ireland used electronic voting machines in seven constituencies on a trial basis.
In 2004, the government abandoned its plans to introduce a nationwide electronic system after a report from the Independent Commission on Electronic Voting and Counting raised concerns about the machines' reliability and the ballot's integrity. E-voting was scrapped in 2009 when further reports confirmed issues over the reliability of the process and the difficulty of storage of the voting machines because of high costs.[4]
The Canadian Citizens Party has propositions about referendum protocols. Canadians can establish an account and post policy recommendations on a platform. Other individuals can sign petitions linked to the recommendations through an electronic signature.[5]