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Could Internet Voting Halt Declining Electoral Turnout? New Evidence That E‐Voting Is Habit Forming
Author(s) -
Solvak Mihkel,
Vassil Kristjan
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
policy and internet
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.281
H-Index - 26
ISSN - 1944-2866
DOI - 10.1002/poi3.160
Subject(s) - turnout , voting , voter turnout , cardinal voting systems , disapproval voting , the internet , voting behavior , group voting ticket , political science , straight ticket voting , bullet voting , advertising , demographic economics , business , economics , computer science , law , world wide web , politics
The hopes that e‐voting would increase voter turnout have not really materialized; any turnout increases in those countries where Internet voting has been introduced have been negligible. But the effect of one mechanism by which this mode of voting might influence turnout is still largely unknown, namely its potential to keep voters voting at higher rates than paper voting, and thus if not reversing, then at least putting a halt to further decline in turnout. This article examines the degree to which people who vote on the Internet once carry on doing so, thereby testing the hypothesis that e‐voting is more habit forming than paper voting. We test if e‐voting displays traits typical of a habit, that is, being a self‐reinforced behavior detached from its original motivations. Survey data are analyzed from five consecutive and e‐enabled nationwide elections in Estonia between 2009 and 2015. The results suggest e‐voting to be very “sticky”; a first time e‐voter is very likely to stay e‐voting in subsequent elections at consistently higher rates than a typical paper voter is to stay paper voting, or a nonvoter to remain a nonvoter. The results call for a re‐examination of the association between Internet voting and turnout.