Citizens of the Australian state of New South Wales are permitted to vote online under specific circumstances. The iVote system enables eligible voters who are not present in the state or whose nearest voting station is located at least 20 km from their residences to cast their votes online. New South Wales has a population of around 7.5 million and is roughly three times the size of Great Britain.
When registering via iVote, users are identified through a comparison with the electoral roll. Each voter chooses a PIN and specifies how he or she would like to receive their iVote number – via SMS, email, letter or telephone. Those opting for transmission by SMS, receive their iVote number directly via Retarus’ infrastructure. Using this individually generated code, voters can log into the system and cast their vote.
In the run-up to this year’s State Government Elections 300,000 eligible voters, a large number of whom reside outside of Australia, chose to have their iVote number sent to them via SMS. Due to the huge success and the reliability of Retarus’ infrastructure, the competent electoral authority has decided to extend the use of Retarus SMS for Applications to further online offers, such as the SmartRoll project. This internet service aims to ensure that the electoral roll is kept more precise, comprehensive and up to date for future elections.
Learn more: Electoral Commission relies on SMS services from Retarus
