The Cratos Principles is the final report of WebRoots Democracy’s ‘Cratos Project’ which took place between 2018 and 2020. Through a series of events, roundtables, and expert interviews, the project set out to design a framework to assess the suitability of remote online voting systems for use in elections.
The result of the project is the Cratos Principles, a set of 33 key principles which cover key aspects of accessibility, security, and user experience. In addition, the report includes a review of existing literature, detailed discussion on the challenges and opportunities, and a ratings system weighting the principles by importance.
This project was supported by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, an independent funder working to help people overcome disadvantage.
Download and read the report here.
To find out more about the Cratos Principles, please contact areeq@webrootsdemocracy.org.
We already have postal voting. Online voting is an alternative form for remote voting. There is a lot of academic research in this field on how to make online voting end-to-end verifiable. Also, there is this agenda for governments to push for online voting. This project is important because it fills a gap between the two: what the government wants and what the research field can provide. – Professor Feng Hao, University of Warwick
The Cratos Project is an important step in understanding the requirements for digital democracy. By undertaking a systematic study of the complex sociotechnical issues in play, the project provides a useful framework – based in strong principles but with practical applications – for thinking about how technology can support a more inclusive politics. – Dr Garfield Benjamin, Solent University
WebRoots Democracy 