The scientific article explores the core ideas of classical sociology and philosophy of the 17th-18th centuries regarding the rule of the people, the correlation between direct democracy forms (elections and referendums) and the concept of the representative state; their development in the legislation and practice of subsequent centuries and in the era of the transition of the humanity to the digital world. The author argues that, in the digital era, forms of direct democracy acquire the status of a key component of a broader research topic – the future of the state and law. The scientific article asserts the relevance of identifying diverse criteria for generalizing and systematizing accumulated international country-specific experience in electronic voting using various information and communication technologies as a methodological basis for the development (improvement) of the legal regulation of electronic elections in the modern world. Special attention is given to the analysis of the constitutional and legal fundamentals of e-democracy in Russia.