Trusting e-voting amid experiences of electoral malpractice: The case of Indian elections

Abstract

This article constructs explanatory theory on trust in e-voting, a term that refers to the use of stand-alone IT artefacts in voting stations. We study e-voting as a techno-organisational arrangement embedded in the process of elections and the broader socio-economic context of a country. Following a critical realist approach, we apply retroduction and retrodiction principles to build theory by complementing existing studies of e-voting with insights from an in-depth case study of elections in India. First, we seek evidence of trust in e-voting in the responses of the public to the announcement of election results. Then we derive the following four mechanisms of trust creation or loss: the association of e-voting with the production of positive democratic effects; the making of e-voting part of the mission and identity of electoral authorities; the cultivation of a positive public attitude to IT with policies for IT-driven socio-economic development; and, in countries with turbulent political cultures, a clear distinction between the experience of voting as orderly and experiences of malpractice in other election tasks. We suggest that these mechanisms explain the different experience with e-voting of different countries. Attention to them helps in assessing the potential of electoral technologies in countries that are currently adopting them, especially fragile democracies embarking upon e-voting.

Generative mechanisms of workarounds, discontinuance and reframing: a study of negative disconfirmation with consumerised IT

“…Our research question is the following: “What are the generative mechanisms that give rise to the different user practices following negative disconfirmation with consumerised IT artefacts?” To address this, we focus on the case of the tablet and specifically around instances of negative disconfirmation in order to identify and understand what triggers negative disconfirmation on the one hand, and on the other hand, to explore the underlying mechanisms that bring the observed practices forward. We draw from Critical Realism, which allows us to identify the generative mechanisms that provide causal explanations for observed phenomena (Mingers & Standing, 2017; Avgerou, Masiero, & Poulymenakou, 2019) through abduction and retroduction.…”

Dimensions that characterize and mechanisms that cause the misuse of information systems for corrupt practices in the Nigerian public sector

“…To empirically identify the structures and mechanisms, CR applies the principles of retroduction or retrodiction modes of reasoning, in order to theorize why or how the observable events occur. With retroduction, CR researchers leverage a theory or theories as lense(s) to move backward from the observed empirical events in order to identify new mechanisms (Danermark et al, 2002), while, with retrodiction, they “examine the validity of already known mechanisms in a new setting” (Avgerou, Masiero, & Poulymenakou, 2019, p. 7).…”

Pemanfaatan Teknologi Pemilu Di Tengah Era Post Truth: Antara Efisiensi dan Kepercayaan

“…Penggunaan teknologi yang dianggap mampu memberi kemudahan dan menciptakan efisiensi, telah membuat negara berbondong-bondong menggunakan teknologi dalam pemilu (Alvarez et. al., 2011;Avgerou et. al., 2019).…”

“…Keamanan EVMs di India telah berulang kali menuai kontroversi (Herstatt & Herstatt, 2017;Rao, 2010). Implikasinya, terjadi bentrokan antarpendukung partai karena pemilih meragukan hasil pemilu yang dilaksanakan melalui e-voting dan e-counting (Avgerou et. al., 2019).…”

“…Padahal, keberhasilan dan kegagalan penerapan teknologi pemilu akan sangat bergantung pada kondisi sosial dan politik seperti apa yang berkembang di masyarakat. Isu penggunaan teknologi dalam pemilu adalah contested dengan beragam cara dan pengalaman di seluruh dunia (Avgerou et. al., 2019).…”