Page 76 - RIMD_4
P. 76
76 R e v u ed el ’ I n s t i t u td uM o n d ee td udéveloppement

employees have to explain voters the running of voting machines while res-
pecting the secrecy of the vote as guaranteed by the French Constitution.
Indeed, the traditional voting booth disappears in the e-vote process, but
the secrecy of the vote remains.
The municipality staff should also be trained to count the votes at the end
of electoral operations. In order to ensure the running of the electoral pro-
cess, municipality employees have not only to know how voting machines
work, but also to master the rules of electoral operations. In particular, it
is necessary to mention that if the votes are directly counted by the voting
machines, they are definitely validated after the employee responsible for
this task has entered a code that he/she is the only one to hold. Results are
then electronically transmitted to the city hall. This dematerialized and di-
gital procedure replaces the traditional procedure of vote in municipalities
that have implemented this process.
The example of electronic vote illustrates the necessity for local authorities
to adapt their organization and the running of e-services in the process of
modernization under the influence of new technologies.
B) The Implementation of Local E-Government Leads to a Reinforce-
ment of Local Authorities' Responsibilities

As it has been noticed, an adaptation of local authorities is necessary from
a functional point of view (adaptation of the running of the services and
training of the employees). What about the legal aspects of this evolution?
This question contributes to highlight that the use of information and com-
munication technologies within local public services is not a simple process
of computerization. Indeed, the adaptation required to implement the digi-
tal administration encourages local authorities to transform the running of
their services. Because of these changes, local authorities must respect legal
rules that are imperative. They assume therefore bigger responsibilities.
For example to implement e-services such as the civil status, local autho-
rities must respect the requirements of the Act n°78-17 of 6 January 1978
on information technology, data files and civil liberties (amended by other
laws and especially by the Act of 6 August 2004 relative to the protection of
individuals with regard to the processing of personal data). Consequently,
when local authorities collect process and store information to ensure this
e-service, they must respect the principles defined by this act (loyalty in the
collection of data, purpose of the files, information of individuals, reinfor-
ced protection of sensitive data, no decision concerning an individual may
1
be taken based only on a processing) .
1 According to article 6 of this text, "processing may be performed only on personal data
that meet the following conditions:
1° the data shall be obtained and processed fairly and lawfully;
2° the data shall be obtained for specified, explicit and legitimate purposes, and shall not
o
RIMD–n 4–2013
   71   72   73   74   75   76   77   78   79   80   81