Many people are intrigued by the idea of building a new life in another country, whether for a better job, lower living costs, or the chance to experience a new culture. For most, living abroad is as much about personal growth as it is about location.
But moving abroad doesn’t mean losing touch with home completely. Many expats remain connected to their country, following news, cultural events, and political developments, often engaging in civic life from afar. For some, political involvement becomes even more important, as it's a way to stay meaningfully involved.
However, active involvement in politics while overseas isn’t so simple. Voting sometimes involves navigating complex absentee systems or travelling long distances to consulates or embassies. Even those living in their home country still face obstacles, like inaccessible polling stations and poorly designed ballots that disincentivize participation.
In 2024, with an estimated 304 million international migrants worldwide, these challenges take on a greater urgency. The scale of global migration means millions face added difficulties, highlighting the need for voting solutions that move beyond physical limitations.
In response to this growing need, Tel Aviv-based Sequent Tech has developed a secure, verifiable online voting solution, which has already passed a major pressure test as it supported one of the biggest online election operations recorded to date.
The Philippines recently employed the software, allowing 1.2 million registered voters across 77 countries to cast their ballots digitally in the country’s recent national elections, authorized by the Philippines Commission on Elections (COMELEC).
While online voting isn’t a novel concept, it’s led to controversy due to security concerns and cyberattacks that could disrupt elections. The tension between convenience and trust has kept many on the fence when it comes to large-scale deployment, but as technology advances, alternative voting options have overcome some of the hurdles that initially halted adoption.
Ensuring votes are secure, recorded, counted
Sequent designed its platform to meet the stringent requirements of US, Canada, and EU, ensuring every vote is securely cast, recorded, and counted.
The system uses biometric authentication, encryption, and zero-knowledge proofs to guarantee the integrity of votes, allowing voters to independently validate their ballots. Thanks to these security measures, the system blocked over 75,000 attempted cyberattacks during the recent Philippine elections.
Traditional, in-person voting also comes with a hefty price tag in comparison to the convenience of voting from a personal device.
Governments must fund polling stations, voting machines, staff, and security to ensure a smooth voting process. According to findings from Sequent, its software can reduce election management costs by 80 percent, bringing the average price per vote to under $2.
Since its launch, Sequent has facilitated over 210 elections throughout governments, municipalities, universities, political parties, labor unions, and professional associations, supporting more than 3.6 million voters. Its voting system has been trusted in global elections, including in Asia, Europe, Canada, and US.
As technology advances and becomes more secure, the key to greater voter participation lies in the palms of voters' hands.
With people spending an average of four to five hours per day on their smartphones, the question is not whether online voting will happen but when digital voting technology like Sequent’s will become more widely accepted.