The diffusion of internet voting. Usage patterns of internet voting in Estonia between 2005 and 2015

Vassil, Kristjan; Solvak, Mihkel; Vinkel, Priit; Trechsel, Alexander H.; Alvarez, R. Michael

doi:10.1016/j.giq.2016.06.007

Cited by 73 publications

(47 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…This suggests a possible reinforcement e↵ect, whereby greater iVoting availability over time generates higher propensities to remain faithful to iVoting, which then stabilise after an initial trial period. A similar dynamic was also noted in the di↵usion of iVoting analysis conducted by Vassil et al (2016). Lastly, we also find that the core socio-demographic variables retain their levels of significance in model 3.…”

supporting

confidence: 82%

“…However, in both cases the focus was on 'intent' to iVote (rather than actual iVoting) and only included younger segments of the population. A more promising line of inquiry, drawing on the work of Rogers (2003) is the di↵usion of innovation theory that has been applied to the Estonian case Vassil et al, 2016). The central message here is that iVoting in the Estonian case can be modelled similarly to any other process of innovation di↵usion with iVoters initially being a distinct subgroup but over time becoming virtually indistinguishable from ballot voters in terms of socio-demographic and attitudinal profiles.…”

Section: Theory and Hypothesesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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What drives fidelity to internet voting? Evidence from the roll–out of internet voting in Switzerland

Mendez

Serdült

2017

Government Information Quarterly

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To date, most of our knowledge regarding individuals' propensity to internet vote comes from cross-sectional survey data. In this paper we try to break new ground by tracking individuals' actual behaviour over time. Specifically, we analyze citizens' choice of voting channel by exploiting a unique longitudinal dataset -the Canton of Geneva's vote registry database. Our aim is to explore patterns in the propensity to use internet voting among eligible voters. To this end, we first mine the registry data to identify a subset of voters that have experimented with internet voting. In a second stage, we explore the effects of key socio-demographic variables on individual voters' fidelity to internet voting. Our results are counter-intuitive. While the conventional wisdom is that younger voters are most likely to be mobilised to use the internet voting channel, we show that this is not the case in one of the few political systems where internet voting is readily available. Indeed, our evidence suggests that it is the older voters rather than 'digital natives' (i.e., the younger voters) that are most likely to remain faithful to internet voting once they have experimented with it. likely to be mobilised to use the internet voting channel, we show that this is not the case in one of the few political systems where internet voting is readily available. Indeed, our evidence suggests that it is older voters rather than 'digital natives' (i.e., the younger voters) that are most likely to remain faithful to internet voting once they have experimented with it.

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supporting

confidence: 82%

Section: Theory and Hypothesesmentioning

confidence: 99%

What drives fidelity to internet voting? Evidence from the roll–out of internet voting in Switzerland

Mendez

Serdült

2017

Government Information Quarterly

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“…Two sources report that Estonian experience has led to a small increase in turnout and no biasing effects (Madise and Vinkel 2014). Fears of biases have receded as uptake has increased (Vassil et al 2016). But there is contrary evidence that online voters are 'more urban, richer, and better-educated than conventional voters and non-voters' (Lust 2015).…”

Section: Modes Of Political Participationmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Bark But No Bite: Inequality and the 2014 New Zealand General Election

Vowles¹,

Coffé²,

Curtin³

2017

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“…This is slightly older, better educated, wealthier and more interested in politics than paper voters' profiles from the same study. That said, a recent study of all e-enabled elections in Estonia documents that the characteristics of internet and paper voters become more similar over time (Vassil et al 2016). 25 Alvarez and Hall 2003.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Reducing the Cost of Voting: An Evaluation of Internet Voting’s Effect on Turnout

Goodman¹,

Stokes²

2018

Brit. J. Polit. Sci.

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Voting models assume that voting costs impact turnout. As turnout declined across advanced democracies, governments enacted reforms designed to reduce costs in order to increase participation. Internet voting, used in elections across a dozen countries, promises to reduce voting costs dramatically. Yet identifying its effect on turnout has proven difficult. In this article, we use original panel data of local elections in Ontario, Canada and fixed effects estimators to estimate internet voting's effect. The results show internet voting can increase turnout by 3.5 percentage points, with larger increases when vote by mail (VBM) is not yet adopted, and greater use when registration is not required. Our estimates suggest that internet voting is unlikely to solve the low turnout crisis, and imply that cost arguments do not fully account for recent turnout declines.Voter turnout is one of the most widely examined areas of political science. Interest in understanding turnout has only grown as electoral participation has declined in advanced democracies over the past several decades.1 Low electoral participation calls democracy into question, and undermines government legitimacy, political representation and equitable public policies.2 To raise participation levels, politicians and administrators often consider electoral reforms, such as compulsory voting or universal voter registration. Differences in electoral rules have been shown to account for variations in turnout across advanced democracies, 3 and some electoral reforms can even affect public policy by changing who participates. 4 But perhaps the simplest and most common electoral reforms aim to reduce voting costs by increasing convenience. Convenience voting options include early voting, extended polling hours and postal voting. 5 These reforms respond to the theory -proposed in basic, rational choice models of voter turnout -that turnout is a function of voting's relative costs and benefits.

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The diffusion of internet voting. Usage patterns of internet voting in Estonia between 2005 and 2015

Cited by 73 publications

References 17 publications

What drives fidelity to internet voting? Evidence from the roll–out of internet voting in Switzerland

What drives fidelity to internet voting? Evidence from the roll–out of internet voting in Switzerland

A Bark But No Bite: Inequality and the 2014 New Zealand General Election

Reducing the Cost of Voting: An Evaluation of Internet Voting’s Effect on Turnout

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