The URV co-organizes an interdisciplinary event bringing together experts in cybersecurity, cryptography, election management, law and political science.

Starting today, Tarragona is welcoming leading experts in electronic voting for the ninth E-Vote-ID international conference, held at the Old Docks in the Port of Tarragona. Organized in part by the Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV), this forum addresses developments and impacts in electoral technology and features participants from the fields of cryptography and cybersecurity, law, political science, sociology, and election management. The gathering includes election organizers, tech developers and members of organisations dedicated to international electoral observation and the defence of democracy. Its interdisciplinary nature and focus on cybersecurity make this conference a prominent event in the field, according to organizers.

Hosted by URV professors Jordi Castellà and Jordi Barrat and supported by the Port of Tarragona, the choice of Tarragona as the venue highlights the region’s expertise in this domain. Reus, for instance, was a testing site for internet voting in 2005. The conference coordinator, David Dueñas-Cid, formerly of URV and now at Kozminski University in Poland, emphasized the growing role of technology in elections worldwide. Countries like Brazil and India use electronic voting machines in large-scale elections, while Estonia and Switzerland have implemented online voting systems to facilitate voter participation.

Many countries use various technologies to carry out different election-related activities, from managing the electoral register to vote counting, including the voting process itself. For instance, countries like Brazil and India use electronic voting machines in large-scale elections, while Estonia and Switzerland have implemented online voting systems to facilitate participation.

In addition to the event’s usual impact, this year’s conference underscores the significance of 2024 in terms of the democratic process, with an upcoming U.S. presidential election and a record-high number of voters called to cast their ballots in other elections around the world. Organizers stress the importance of establishing secure universal electronic voting systems to support global democratic expansion.

A total of 27 presentations will cover a wide range of topics, including technical aspects related to cryptography and cybersecurity, issues of trust in electoral processes and case studies of electronic voting system implementations in Canada, Germany, Poland, and Albania. The conference also features three keynote speakers who will address critical industry topics. Feng Hao, a researcher in Security Engineering at the University of Warwick (UK), will discuss cryptographic verification in electronic voting; Lexi Merrick Boiro from the National Democratic Institute (U.S.) will look at transparency and oversight in electoral technology companies; and Michelle Brown from Curious Fox Labs (U.S.) will explore how AI could affect elections, particularly in terms of misinformation and manipulation, and will advocate for greater regulation and oversight.