The Rector of the Universidad de Concepción, Carlos Saavedra, highlighted the incorporation of electronic voting in the election of the authorities of the campus.
On June 10, 2020, the Universidad de Concepción incorporated electronic voting for the first time in the election of an academic authority: the dean of the Faculty of Veterinary Sciences. A little more than a year later and with 75 election processes completed, the Rector of the campus, Carlos Saavedra, expresses his satisfaction with the process as a whole.
How do you evaluate the electronic elections experience at UdeC?
I think that, for the entire academic community of the university, it has been a very positive experience. It has allowed, during a very difficult period of time, to maintain the continuity of the processes of renewal of democratically elected authorities through mechanisms that guaranteed the fundamental aspects of an election process: information, secrecy and integrity of the vote.
Was it necessary to modify the internal regulations to allow this type of election?
Although this proposal was initially transitory, I would say that from this experience it has remained rather long-lasting, and what is written permanently is the possibility of developing these processes in a hybrid form. Of course, as long as the pandemic continues, they will continue to be exclusively electronic, and from this experience, surely the faculties and departments will evolve exclusively towards electronic voting platforms.
Did you have to convince the community of this modality? What was the process like?
Although this type of initiative was part of our planning for the modernization of the organizational culture, especially in the expansion of spaces for the participation of the university community through the incorporation of consultation mechanisms, it was the pandemic that accelerated the decisions in this regard. On April 17, 2020, we issued the decree that included the agreements of the Academic Council and the Board of Directors of the Corporation to incorporate new opportunities for participation in the electoral processes that would guarantee the broadest participation. Thus, from the beginning, there was a very favorable disposition to the incorporation of new mechanisms, such as electronic voting.
What struck you the most about the process? Difficulties?
The opportunity to participate, even if you are not on campus, a situation that happens on many other occasions to university personnel. This guarantees the widest possible participation. However, this also implies cultural changes and it is necessary to build trust on the quality and security of the services offered, especially where the integrity and secrecy of the vote are decisive.
What would you highlight about the service as a whole?
At all times I have observed a high level of professionalism on the part of all the people from EVoting, with whom we have had to interact, especially in the accompaniment of each of the electoral processes developed. They showed a good disposition to support the internal processes, together with flexibility and adaptation according to the different regulations and needs of the different types of faculties and academic communities.
Do you believe that this change has long-term implications or is it something that only has to do with contingency?
Our community has had a positive experience with electronic voting for elections of unipersonal authorities. For this reason it is highly likely that it will be maintained, very possibly in combination with the traditional face-to-face form for these processes. Currently, its extension to the election of the Rector in a hybrid format is being analyzed.
Would you say it fits the academic culture? What is missing?
Absolutely. University communities are always attentive to incorporate new opportunities, which in this case are provided by technological developments. What is important is the use of reliable and secure platforms. Our current challenge is to implement mixed voting and see how electronic voting converges with face-to-face voting, especially in small electorates where the secrecy of the vote must be preserved. It is a challenge for the communities that opt for it, based on the preferences of their electorates.
Check out the video interview by clicking on EVoting’s Youtube Channel.