There are some documents required for online voting. Online voting must offer the same guarantees as onsite voting, without adding unnecessary barriers and without reducing security. That balance, delicate but essential, is the starting point.
In a physical polling station, identification is straightforward: someone shows their ID, a poll worker verifies that the person is on the voter list, and then a ballot is handed over. In the digital environment, this same process must be reproduced using verifiable digital credentials, validated voter lists, and authentication mechanisms that comply with current regulations.
Documents required for online voting depending on the type of organisation
Determining which documents required for online voting are needed depends on each entity and legal obligations, especially for organisations subject to digital identity requirements established in frameworks such as the EU’s eIDAS Regulation. Whether the organisation is small or large, public or private. Each one sets its own criteria based on statutes, electoral regulations, and legal obligations.
| Associations and Federations | Identification document (ID card, passport, NIE) Membership accreditation (member number, active status, validated voter list) |
| Professional Colleges and Associations | ID card or passport Professional registration or membership number |
| Companies and Unions | Identity documentInternal employee number Corporate email |
| HOAs/POAs (Residential communities) | Proof of ownership or rental contract Identification document (depending on regulations) Verification of the community voter list |
| Municipalities | Citizen identifier (digital ID, electronic ID card, municipal certificate) Updated municipal registry |
| Religious Orders and Institutions | Certificate or proof of membershipIdentity document (according to internal regulations) Updated ecclesiastical voter list |
| Schools | Academic ID or enrolment number Institutional emailIdentification document (depending on regulations) |
| Universities | University credentials (student ID, enrolment, institutional platform access) Academic email |
With Eligo, the documents required for online voting are simplified without losing security
One of the biggest dilemmas in any digital process is finding the right balance between security and simplicity regarding the documents required for online voting. But with Eligo, this balance becomes a proven methodology.
Eligo reduces documentary requirements without compromising electoral guarantees. How does it achieve this?
- Voter-roll validation. Before the election is opened, Eligo can support the organisation in importing, cleaning, or synchronising electoral rolls from existing internal systems such as CRMs, administrative databases, professional registries, or academic records.
This optional pre-validation module helps ensure that voter data is accurate and up to date, avoiding unnecessary document uploads for information already held by the organisation. - Robust authentication. Eligo integrates secure identification methods secure identification methods. Depending on the organisation, personalised links, unique identifiers, two-step verification, temporary tokens, email codes, or integration with corporate directories (LDAP, Microsoft Entra ID, Google Workspace) can be used.
- Real security with anti-fraud controls and audits. Eligo includes internal audits, end-to-end encryption, and anti-fraud mechanisms that ensure vote uniqueness without asking the voter for anything extra, maintaining full transparency, strengthening trust in the process, and protecting every stage of the election from manipulation or accidental errors.
Without Eligo, every time additional documents required for online voting are requested, the risk of voter abandonment increases. With Eligo, participation rates are higher precisely because voters do not feel they are facing a bureaucratic process. They simply enter, identify themselves in seconds, and vote. Nothing more.
Digital documentation vs. source verification, which one is more secure?
For years, many organisations have assumed that asking for more documents equals a more secure process. It is an understandable intuition, but an incorrect one. In practice, collecting photos of ID cards, professional certificates, or internal proofs can produce the opposite effect, slowing down the process, increasing errors, and, most importantly, raising exposure to security and data-protection risks.
Requesting many documents does not improve security. But automatic voter-roll verification does. This way, the voter does not need to prove who they are, because their identity is already validated before entering the process. Eligo is built on this model.
If your organisation is considering digitising its elections, this is the right time to take the step. You can contact our team to receive personalised information and see how fewer documents required for online voting and stronger security increase participation.
5 FAQs about documents required for online voting
What happens if a voter’s ID document is expired at the time of the election?
In most processes, the documents required for online voting are not used to physically validate the voter’s identity, but rather as a reference within a previously verified voter roll. If the document is expired but the data matches the official record, it usually does not affect voting rights.
Can an organisation allow voting without requesting any of the documents required for online voting beforehand?
Yes. In fact, many organisations choose to completely eliminate manual document submission and replace it with internal voter-roll verification, single-use link authentication, or secure access codes. This is common practice in companies, universities, and large associations.
Can digital certificates or electronic signatures be used as an alternative to physical documents?
It depends on the organisation and its internal regulations. Some municipalities or public entities integrate digital certificates or systems like electronic ID to reinforce authentication. However, in most associations, unions, or educational centres, this is unnecessary. These entities tend to use simpler methods (unique links, tokens) that offer the same level of security without requiring technical knowledge from the voter.
What happens if a voter belongs to an organisation but their census data is outdated?
This is a frequent situation. For this reason, cleaning the voter roll before the election is highly recommended. If the document data or membership information does not match, authentication issues may arise. The solution is to correct the roll before the process begins or provide a support point to resolve incidents quickly, without asking the voter for additional documents.
Is it safe for voters to send their documents required for online voting by email to validate their identity?
It is not advisable. Email does not guarantee confidentiality or protection against unauthorised access. Storing personal documents in inboxes or shared folders creates a serious compliance risk. Organisations should avoid this practice and instead rely on source verification or secure authentication systems, always with encryption and traceability.