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Since the 2000 U.S. presidential election, many have worked to increase voters’ confidence that election results are fair and correct. One theme from 2000 was that the technology used to record votes—especially punchcard ballots—was deficient and needed to be replaced. The Help America Vote Act of 2002 provided federal funds for states to acquire electronic voting machines or optically scanned paper ballots. New controversy arose when computer scientists and others complained that the recommended technologies were far from being up to the task. The

Several countries have conducted Internet voting trials in binding public elections over the past decade, including Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. These trials have been conducted at the local and regional levels of government, targeting specific populations of voters. However, Estonia—a former Soviet republic and now a full member of the European Union—has advanced the farthest in deploying Internet voting. Since 2000, Estonia has conducted two national elections in which all voters could use Internet voting.