Remote Voting in Haiti’s 2026 Elections: Opportunities, Risks, and Lessons from Global Models
The Provisional Electoral Council of Haiti plans to hold elections by 2026, marking what would be the first elections in Haiti in approximately 10 years. It is planned that Haitians will go to the polls to vote in general elections after persistent delays since elections were initially scheduled in 2019, due to insecurity and instability.
Despite having poor accessibility to many polling stations and a relatively large diaspora who are eligible to vote, Haiti does not yet provide remote voting in elections. The most recent election in Haiti was marred by violence, low voter turnout, and electoral irregularities. According to the International Foundation for Electoral Systems, with close to 6 million registered Haitian voters, 19% participated in the 2016 presidential election of Jovenel Moise. With the next planned election rapidly approaching, the potential for remote voting presents an exciting prospect for Haiti to help improve electoral integrity and increase voter participation.
Haiti's President Jovenel Moise stands with his wife Martine during a Mass at the National Palace after being sworn-in at Parliament in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Tuesday Feb. 7, 2017.
What is Remote Voting?
There are many ways that countries allow their citizens to vote remotely in elections. Some examples include:
Absentee voting: Voters deliver physical ballots via post or vote in foreign embassies or consulates outside the country
Online voting: Voters cast their votes through a website
Mobile/email voting: Voters send votes via text, email, and other methods
With remote voting, voters are not required to vote in person at a polling station in their country. Democracies across the world organize their elections differently and use different procedures to oversee elections. Remote voting is practiced across the globe and is becoming increasingly popular due to technological innovation and increased voter mobility. Famously, in the United States, there exists absentee voting, where, for example, citizens who are deployed abroad can vote remotely by mail. However, this practice has gotten much media attention and scrutiny in recent U.S. elections.
Brazilians over 18 years old living abroad must register to vote and participate in presidential elections. They vote based on local time zones, and electoral polling stations are set up in places with at least 30 voters, usually at embassies, consular offices, or locations where the Brazilian government provides services. Switzerland has adopted e-voting in specific parts of the country, allowing voters to cast their ballots via the internet using their smartphone, computer, or laptop. This type of voting is convenient for voters and streamlines elections, which occur relatively frequently in Switzerland due to the country's political system's emphasis on direct democracy.
Estonia I-Voting & Security Measures
Estonia has digitalized much of its electoral process and began internet voting, or "i-voting," in 2005. By 2023, the majority of voters in Estonian elections would have voted online. As a result, Estonia became a world leader in government service digitalization and was the first internationally to adopt "i-voting." The "i-voting" system allows citizens to vote anywhere they want at their convenience.
Kenya is another trailblazer in election innovation. The Kriegler Commission in Kenya instituted the adoption of a biometric registration system to ensure the identities of voters. The results of this initiative included removing over 1 million deceased voters from the electoral register. The country has also deployed the Kenya Integrated Electoral Management System, which comprises the biometric voter registration, the electronic voter identification, and the results transmission system during tallying in Kenyan elections.
India is the world's largest democracy, and its national elections involve the mobilization of hundreds of millions of voters. In recent years, India has explored the opportunity of using blockchain to facilitate remote voting. A proof of concept for a blockchain system to enable remote voting was recently designed under the instructions of the Election Commission of India.
Opportunities from Remote Voting
In the past, the election season in Haiti has experienced violence and chaos at polling stations. Due to the unsafe security situation in Haiti, remote voting could ensure voter safety, promote voter participation, and prevent voter intimidation. Remote voting could also prevent electoral irregularities such as ballot stuffing. Research shows that the typical effects of remote voting include enhanced accessibility, increased convenience, and, in certain circumstances, potentially higher voter turnout.
Electoral workers manually count ballots at a tabulation center in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Monday, Oct. 26, 2015. (AP Photo/Ricardo Arduengo)
As of 2025, A large share of Haiti's population lives outside of the country. Around 1.2 million Haitians are living in the U.S., with approximately 56% of them of voting age. At the same time, in the neighboring Dominican Republic, around 500,000 Haitians reside. These numbers, however, do not distinguish between those who have retained Haitian nationality or naturalized to the U.S. or other countries and, therefore, would require dual citizenship in order to be eligible to vote in Haiti. On top of that, there are over 1 million internally displaced Haitians within Haiti. A large number of internally displaced people would struggle to vote using the conventional, in-person paper ballot methods in Haitian elections. Remote voting could overcome logistical challenges faced by voters attending polling stations, like those in remote areas and in communities where trips to polling stations may be dangerous due to elevated levels of violence.
During the last elections, an electoral observation mission reported that there were poorly trained polling station staff, overcrowding at polling stations, which undermined ballot secrecy, and problems with the indelible ink used to identify individuals who had already voted. There was also evidence of vote buying and voter substitution, as well as excessive numbers of political party representatives who were authorized to vote at polling places other than those where they were registered. Additionally, ballots were delayed at several polling stations, and many voters were unable to cast their votes because their names were not on the official voter registration lists. At three polling stations, authorities were forced to shut down after fistfights broke out due to ballot box stuffing and other visible irregularities. At one polling station, groups of young men ripped up paper ballots as heavily armed police shot into the air to re-establish order, and rocks were thrown in response before authorities closed the polling station. Remote voting might address some of the unique challenges that Haiti faces during its elections. With a large share of Haitians living overseas and security difficulties on the ground at polling stations, the introduction of remote voting might be a solution.
Adopting digitalized systems such as "i-voting" to enable remote voting would have a range of benefits and pose an opportunity for Haiti to engage in "leapfrogging" by implementing technological solutions that many richer countries have not yet adopted.
Residents of Cite-Soleil line up to cast their vote in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2006.
Challenges of Remote Voting
Across the world, remote voting has been a topic of great controversy. Haiti has experienced political violence around elections before, and any unorthodox procedures surrounding election day could fuel suspicion, distrust, or unrest. If access to remote voting is unequal, it could fuel discontent and undermine the electoral process. After the last elections, voters rioted because they did not trust the election results presented by the electoral council. This mistrust resulted in multiple government buildings and homes being set on fire, including an electoral office, a mayor's office, and schools.
To alleviate the lack of trust in the electoral process, voters will need to be well informed on how to vote remotely; Haiti already has low voter turnout, with the previous elections being the lowest participation rate for a national election in the Western Hemisphere since 1945. If there is any confusion, voters could be disenfranchised. The planned elections are fast approaching, and it is unclear if they will even happen. So if remote voting is to be implemented, voter outreach will have to be started immediately; otherwise, information from government communications may not reach voters in time.
Haiti's diplomatic missions have not yet been used for elections. If remote voting does become a reality, certain locations abroad are likely to be overwhelmed due to high concentrations of Haitian expats. In contrast, in other places in the U.S., like the Midwest and Northwest, voters could be disenfranchised due to not having a nearby Haitian consulate or an authorized voting center. Since voting is not mandatory in Haitian elections, it would be hard to predict likely turnout at polls abroad, which would complicate planning.
Legislation would also need to be amended to ensure that remote voting is legal in future elections, and the preparations are put in place to confirm its viability. For example, in the upcoming referendum, which is scheduled before the upcoming election, the draft referendum decree states:
Articles 39 and 56 state that voting must take place on paper and not on electronic voting machines
Article 66 provides for the use of new information and communication technologies for the electronic transfer of the vote count to the Provisional Electoral Council.
It is critical to ensure that the proper documentation and infrastructure are in place before the next election if remote voting is to be implemented.
Technological Advances in Haiti
Haiti has made significant strides toward preparing for the digitalization of government services, and this may provide a foundation for future remote voting procedures. Since 2006, Haiti's National Identification Office has been issuing the Carte d'Identification Nationale (CIN) to every Haitian citizen living in Haiti and around the world, free of charge. The CIN now serves as a national identity document, and as of 2021, Haiti's National Identification Office requires biometrics such as an eye scan, a photo, and fingerprints. Replicating Estonia's voting system would be a monumental task for the Haitian state. However, given the additional layers of verification using biometrics, the CIN card could be a force multiplier to create the path towards remote voting. The cards allow for unique identification of voters, elimination of fraudulent duplicate voting, and simplified voter registration.
Remote Voting by 2026
The Provisional Electoral Council is under enormous pressure to hold an election by 2026. This leaves a very short time frame for the planning and implementation of new policies to enable remote voting. The top priority for policymakers should be to ensure that all Haitians of voting age have their CIN card and are registered to vote. The Council should seek to avoid a repeat of the 2010 elections, when voters were not issued identity cards in time; a task that will be daunting with the short window before elections and the level of insecurity. Once maximum registration is achieved, the government could pilot a remote voting initiative; however, consideration must be given to the potential risks of rolling out a new voting process or system.
The last elections in Haiti were a disaster. Many Haitian voters were excluded; polling stations were attacked, and the people's trust in the process remained at its lowest. Offering remote voting options could secure voting accessibility, reduce security and organizational costs, ensure one person, one vote, avoid polling station overcrowding, and deter fraud.
Ensuring that Haiti's first election in 10 years is a success without scandals or irregularities should be the priority for the Provisional Electoral Council. If Haitians go to the polls anytime in 2026, that alone could be viewed as a success. By leveraging technology, Haiti can optimize its election procedures and increase voter turnout by offering remote voting options to its citizens in Haiti and abroad.
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