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Article
Publication date: 26 August 2021

Peter Dithan Ntale and Muhammed Ngoma

The purpose of this paper is to assess the readiness of Ugandans to accept electronic voting under the restrictive conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to assess the readiness of Ugandans to accept electronic voting under the restrictive conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Design/methodology/approach

A semi-structured questionnaire, built on a five-point-Likert scale with responses ranging from 1 – strongly disagree to 5 – strongly agree was used to get quantifiable data from four main electoral stakeholders i.e. the policymakers, urban and semi-urban youth, rural voters and government officials. These stakeholders were purposively and conveniently selected because of the influential roles they play in promoting electoral democracy in Uganda. Using a cross-sectional survey design, the authors adopted correlational and quantitative research designs to collect and analyse data. Data was collected from a maximum sample size of 384 as recommended by Krejcie and Morgan (1970) from which 252 useful responses (65.6% response rate) were obtained. Using a statistical package for social scientists version 21.0, the authors performed a Pearson correlation coefficient to determine the relationships between study variables and linear regression analysis to predict the readiness of the stakeholders to accept e-voting more especially under the constraints caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Findings

There was a positive significant relationship between perceived usefulness (PU) and attitude towards adoption, perceived ease of use and attitude towards adoption, attitude and readiness and finally trust propensity and readiness. The regression results show that 65% of the variations in readiness to adopt e-voting can be explained by perceived ease of use, PU, trust propensity and attitude towards adoption. Attitude towards adopting e-voting accounts for the highest variations in the model followed by trust propensity and finally PU. However, perceived ease of use was found to be insignificant.

Research limitations/implications

The study was limited to only PU, perceived ease of use, trust propensity, attitudes towards using/adoption and readiness to accept e-voting amidst the COVID-19 strict conditions. In Africa, electoral democracy can be influenced by a number of factors such as finances, education levels, sectarianism, voter rigging, perceived risk, political and economic environment. These were not taken into consideration yet they would affect the stakeholders’ attitudes and perceptions which would directly or indirectly affect the adoption of electronic voting.

Practical implications

Given the low levels of technology infrastructure in the country, there is a general low uptake of technology-oriented systems. The internet reach is low and quality is poor whilst the radio and televisions network is limited to a few urban settings, poor quality technology systems such as the recently acquired voter biometric systems and the constant government actions to switch off the internet and social media whenever there are contentious political issues. These inadequacies together with the restrictive COVID-19 conditions have compromised the participation of stakeholders which dents the stakeholders’ readiness to accept e-voting which consequently compromises electoral democracy in the country. Therefore, government, electoral observers, the international community and civil society organizations need to accelerate the technology infrastructure development in the country, training and development of technical skills and competences, as well as mass mobilization on the use of technology-oriented platforms aimed at promoting electoral democracy. The country should come up with ICT policies and regulations that encourage the use of ICT in areas that promote democracy. These may include; the use of an easy e-voting system such as emails and voting via the post office. Also, Lawmakers, civil society organizations and the international community should make it punitive for anyone who disenfranchises people through internet disconnection, denial of access to broadcast, print and online media. These interventions will restore peoples’ attitudes and perceptions towards electronic voting, consequently increasing their levels of participation in the electioneering process.

Originality/value

The Ministry of Health, the Uganda Police Force and other security agencies have come out strongly to enforce the COVID-19 standard operating procedures which among others include the banning of political gatherings, processions and meetings of any kind. As a remedy, the Electoral Commission is encouraging political parties, electoral candidates, voters and other stakeholders to use technology-oriented systems such as mobile phones, broadcast and print media, the internet and others to reach out to the electorate. With the government in full control of all these electronic, print and broadcast media, having previously switched them off during the 2011 and 2016 polls consequently disenfranchising many people from their democratic rights, it remains unknown the extent to which the electorate is ready to accept and appreciate scientific voting more so during this time when restrictions against COVID-19 are not making it any better for the voters and other key participants to carry out their political and civil activities.

Details

Digital Policy, Regulation and Governance, vol. 23 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2398-5038

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 October 2017

Norazah Mohd. Suki and Norbayah Mohd. Suki

The purpose of this paper is to examine the determinants that influence students’ decision-making and satisfaction in campus e-voting, and to investigate the moderating effect on…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the determinants that influence students’ decision-making and satisfaction in campus e-voting, and to investigate the moderating effect on students’ decision-making and satisfaction in campus e-voting between students with different levels of trust in the system.

Design/methodology/approach

This study employed a quantitative method and applied the use of self-administered questionnaires among university students who have at least experienced once in casting votes electronically in the past year during the campus e-voting period. The data were analysed using partial least square-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) approach.

Findings

The PLS-SEM approach revealed that voters’ commitment to vote was the strongest determinant of students’ decision-making and satisfaction in campus e-voting. Voters’ high satisfaction with campus e-voting was based on the commitment and requirement of students of the university to vote. Compulsory voting was not a hassle for them in order to achieve campus development and sustainability. A moderation analysis revealed that the relative influence of commitment to vote on students’ satisfaction in campus e-voting was higher in the group with medium level of trust than among the group with high level of trust.

Practical implications

The election commission of the university and the university management should increase students’ turnout and commitment to vote during campus e-voting by outlining effective marketing strategies, campaigns and promotions across a number of digital platforms, including mobile SNS. They need to ensure that voters can sense their involvement is warranted and will continue to vote electronically in the next campus election.

Originality/value

The research yielded an exclusive perspective into students’ decision-making and satisfaction in campus e-voting. It also uncovered the influence of moderating effect of trust in the system in developing countries which is marginally concealed in the literature. The measurements produced can be used as a research tool for more exploratory and explanatory research related to political marketing among young adult voters.

Details

Journal of Enterprise Information Management, vol. 30 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1741-0398

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 March 2017

Aggelos Kiayias, Thomas Zacharias and Bingsheng Zhang

This paper aims to investigate the importance of auditing for election privacy via issues that appear in the state-of-the-art implementations of e-voting systems that apply…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate the importance of auditing for election privacy via issues that appear in the state-of-the-art implementations of e-voting systems that apply threshold public key encryption (TPKE) in the client such as Helios and use a bulletin board (BB).

Design/methodology/approach

Argumentation builds upon a formal description of a typical TPKE-based e-voting system where the election authority (EA) is the central node in a star network topology. The paper points out the weaknesses of the said topology with respect to privacy and analyzes how these weaknesses affect the security of several instances of TPKE-based e-voting systems. Overall, it studies the importance of auditing from a privacy aspect.

Findings

The paper shows that without public key infrastructure (PKI) support or – more generally – authenticated BB “append” operations, TPKE-based e-voting systems are vulnerable to attacks where the malicious EA can act as a man-in-the-middle between the election trustees and the voters; hence, it can learn how the voters have voted. As a countermeasure for such attacks, this work suggests compulsory trustee auditing. Furthermore, it analyzes how lack of cryptographic proof verification affects the level of privacy that can be provably guaranteed in a typical TPKE e-voting system.

Originality/value

As opposed to the extensively studied importance of auditing to ensure election integrity, the necessity of auditing to protect privacy in an e-voting system has been mostly overlooked. This paper reveals design weaknesses present in noticeable TPKE-based e-voting systems that can lead to a total breach of voters’ privacy and shows how auditing can be applied for providing strong provable privacy guarantees.

Details

Information & Computer Security, vol. 25 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2056-4961

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 10 February 2021

Funmilola Olubunmi Omotayo and Olasubomi Adetutu Adekunle

This study aims to investigate the adoption and use of electronic voting (e-voting) system as an option to credible elections in Nigeria, as well as the factors that could…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to investigate the adoption and use of electronic voting (e-voting) system as an option to credible elections in Nigeria, as well as the factors that could influence the readiness of Oyo state citizens in Nigeria to use the system.

Design/methodology/approach

The study adopts the survey research design, while the Technology Readiness Acceptance Model provides the theoretical framework. A two-stage sampling procedure (random and convenience) was used to select 500 Nigerian citizens, who are of voting age, while data were collected with a structured questionnaire.

Findings

Findings reveal that the citizens are ready to use the e-voting system if adopted by the Nigerian Government. Optimism and innovativeness are positively correlated, and perceived discomfort and perceived insecurity are negatively correlated, with readiness to use e-voting system by Oyo state citizens. The Technology Acceptance Model constructs (perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use), as well as computer self-efficacy also have positive correlations with readiness to use of e-voting.

Research limitations/implications

The population of the study was limited to only citizens in one state of the federation; hence, the results cannot be generalised to all citizens in Nigeria.

Practical implications

The study contributes to existing knowledge on adoption and use of technology and confirms that optimism and innovativeness are motivators and discomfort and insecurity are inhibitors of intention to use and actual usage of technology. Hence, these constructs should be taken into account and promoted when Nigeria is planning to adopt the e-voting system.

Social implications

This paper could assist the Nigerian Government on the factors to consider when implementing the e-voting system.

Originality/value

This paper is one of the first pieces of empirical research that attempted to investigate the factors that could promote acceptance and use of the e-voting system in Nigeria.

Article
Publication date: 5 May 2020

Maxat Kassen

Despite certain political, organizational, technological and socioeconomic benefits that e-voting brings, governments around the world are beginning one by one to denounce its…

Abstract

Purpose

Despite certain political, organizational, technological and socioeconomic benefits that e-voting brings, governments around the world are beginning one by one to denounce its further use in the electoral process. In this regard, the paper aims to analyze reasons that led to the discontinuation of e-voting, resorting to the case of Kazakhstan, a transitional post-soviet country, which actively used the technology in 2004-2011, as a poster child of the global trend, elaborating on key political, socioeconomic, organizational and technological risks that could be associated with the possible return of this innovation in future elections.

Design/methodology/approach

The research is based on the combination of context and policy analysis, as well as focus groups studies and semi-structured interviews. The context analysis was aimed to understand various political and socioeconomic benefits in adopting e-voting in Kazakhstan. The policy analysis was useful in identifying implementation strategies of the government in promoting e-voting. The focus groups were helpful in understanding the perspectives of various audiences on e-voting. The semi-structured interviews were carried among independent developers in regard to the potential software products that could be used to propose new solutions in the area, including by experimenting with various blockchain platforms.

Findings

Analyzing the lessons from Kazakhstan, one can conclude that e-voting was introduced and used for several years by authorities in this country for certain economic and organizational benefits, but later they had to reject it and return to traditional paper ballot due to lack of confidence from the non-governmental sector in the capacity of public sector to ensure the integrity of e-voting procedures. As a result, building trust and applying innovative approaches should be a priority for policymakers in the area, if they wish to return to this technology, especially in adopting new presumably more reliable solutions based on blockchain technologies.

Research limitations/implications

The primary data that was collected by the author from field studies were indexed, refined and presented in a special matrix in a separate section, which were interpreted in the discussion session. These data could be used by other scholars for further interpretation and analysis in their own studies, setting new research agendas and testing hypotheses. This is a single case study research, which is focused on the analysis of reasons that led to the denunciation of e-voting in Kazakhstan, which results could be extrapolated mostly to similar transitional post-totalitarian settings.

Practical implications

The study can be used to inform ways of how to improve the current e-voting platforms, especially in ensuring better security and transparency of the systems, which could be useful for developers who work on blockchain-driven solutions.

Social implications

The results of the case study research and expert opinions expressed by various software developers in the e-government areas, which were presented in the paper, could be used by both an academic community and practitioners in understanding better a wide range of political, organizational, economic, social and technological drivers, risks and new opportunities in promoting e-voting technology as a trust generating social phenomenon.

Originality/value

The paper proposes the first case study of reasons that led to the discontinuation of e-voting in the context of such a typical transitional, post-totalitarian and post-soviet society as Kazakhstan, providing new insights into a wide range of political, regulatory, socioeconomic, organizational and technological aspects of related policy decision-making and implementation strategies adopted by public institutions in this country.

Details

Transforming Government: People, Process and Policy, vol. 14 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-6166

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 17 October 2016

Mohammad Kamel Alomari

The purpose of this paper is to present factors that affect e-voting adoption in the Middle East and, in particular, Jordan. Changing the election voting method for the people in…

1088

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present factors that affect e-voting adoption in the Middle East and, in particular, Jordan. Changing the election voting method for the people in Jordan from traditional voting to interactive voting via the web needs exploration to understand the factors affecting e-voting adoption by citizens. Therefore, this paper reports on a study undertaken to identify the main factors that would influence citizens’ intentions to adopt the use of an e-voting system in Jordan, using an established e-government adoption model and a theoretical framework consisting of the diffusion of innovations (DOI) theory and the technology acceptance model (TAM).

Design/methodology/approach

A survey study of 267 Jordanian citizens who were internet users investigated the influence of the aforementioned factors on the adoption and use of e-voting websites. Multiple regression analysis was used to test the hypotheses.

Findings

Contrary to the previous established e-government adoption model, beliefs and website design were not found to be significant predictors of the intention to use e-voting websites. The paper found that trust in government, attitudes, perceived usefulness and complexity were significant factors in Jordanian citizens’ intentions to use e-voting websites.

Originality/value

This is one of few studies to have used an established e-government adoption model to test the adoption of e-voting as one of the e-government applications. In addition, this paper is one of the few to examine the factors that influence the adoption and use of e-voting systems by citizens in the Middle East. Although the previous e-government adoption model showed the impact of attitude to be non-significant on e-government adoption, this paper shows the significant influence of attitudes on citizens’ intentions to use e-voting websites. On the other hand, this paper supports previous e-government adoption studies in showing the importance of including constructs of the DOI theory (relative advantage and complexity) and those related to TAM (perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use) when considering the topic of e-government adoption in a Middle Eastern country, although previous studies have shown similarities between these constructs.

Details

Transforming Government: People, Process and Policy, vol. 10 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-6166

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 October 2005

L. Christian Schaupp and Lemuria Carter

To identify the factors that influence adoption of e‐voting services by citizens between the ages of 18‐24.

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Abstract

Purpose

To identify the factors that influence adoption of e‐voting services by citizens between the ages of 18‐24.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses Carter and Belanger's (2005) model of e‐government adoption to assess young voters' intention to use an online voting system. The study integrates constructs from technology acceptance, diffusion of innovation, and web trust models. A survey is administered to 208 young voters. The data is analyzed using multiple regression analysis.

Findings

Results indicate that user perceptions of compatibility, usefulness, and trust significantly impact their intention to use an electronic‐voting system. The model explains 76 percent of the variance in young voters' intention to use an e‐voting system.

Research limitations/implications

The study only explores the perceptions of one age group. Future studies could use the model to access adoption perceptions of a more diverse pool of citizens.

Practical implications

Government agencies should emphasize the benefits of this electronic service to young voters. If marketed properly, the convenience and compatibility of e‐voting may be influential enough to motivate this normally apathetic demographic to participate in the election process.

Originality/value

This study explores adoption of internet voting by young citizens. An understanding of the factors that influence this demographics' intention to use e‐voting systems can be used to increase voter participation. The findings of this study also lay the foundation for future studies on e‐voting adoption.

Details

Journal of Enterprise Information Management, vol. 18 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1741-0398

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 30 November 2007

Wolter Pieters and Robert van Haren

The aim of the research described was to identify reasons for differences between discourses on electronic voting in the UK and The Netherlands, from a qualitative point of view.

Abstract

Purpose

The aim of the research described was to identify reasons for differences between discourses on electronic voting in the UK and The Netherlands, from a qualitative point of view.

Design/methodology/approach

From both countries, eight e‐voting experts were interviewed on their expectations, risk estimations, cooperation and learning experiences. The design was based on the theory of strategic niche management. A qualitative analysis of the data was performed to refine the main variables and identify connections.

Findings

The results show that differences in these variables can partly explain the variations in the embedding of e‐voting in the two countries, from a qualitative point of view. Key differences include the goals of introducing e‐voting, concerns in relation to verifiability and authenticity, the role of the Electoral Commissions and a focus on learning versus a focus on phased introduction.

Research limitations/implications

The current study was limited to two countries. More empirical data can reveal other relevant subvariables, and contribute to a framework that can improve our understanding of the challenges of electronic voting.

Originality/value

This study shows the context‐dependent character of discussions on information security. It can be informative for actors involved in e‐voting in the UK and The Netherlands, and other countries using or considering electronic voting.

Details

Journal of Information, Communication and Ethics in Society, vol. 5 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1477-996X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 March 2018

Stavros Valsamidis, Sotirios Kontogiannis, Theodosios G. Theodosiou and Ioannis Petasakis

Currently, electronic election is one of the most popular issues of e-democracy. This has led to the development of applications and several security mechanisms to address such…

Abstract

Purpose

Currently, electronic election is one of the most popular issues of e-democracy. This has led to the development of applications and several security mechanisms to address such necessity. The problem that arises is that such applications are created either on demand for a specific election process, or experimentally for scientific purposes. The purpose of this study is to present a new e-voting system, called VOTAN. The VOTAN system involves a combination of new features with basic advantages, the implementation as open source software, its modular organization covering the functional requirements of a typical electronic voting system (EVS) and the capability of data analysis of candidates and voters.

Design/methodology/approach

VOTAN stands for VOTes Analyzer. It is a secure application for the conduct of electronic elections through the internet based on its own security protocol. It also includes a data analysis component which analyzes the election results and investigates the factors that play a crucial role. The major advantages of the system are that it is an open source and includes a data analysis module that can distinguish important variables from the elections and help make predictions for the outcome based on the selected variables. It is a practical solution to the existing e-voting applications and is ideal for small communities such as organizations, universities and chambers.

Findings

Its main advantage, compared to similar e-voting systems, is the integration of the data analysis component. The analysis of the data produced from elections is considered a critical process to fully comprehend the outcome of the elections and its correlation to specific attributes/variables of the election process. The data analysis module is a unique feature of VOTAN. It facilitates the selection of the most important attributes that influence the outcome of elections and creates a mathematical model to predict the outcome of an election based on the selected attributes. The method used in the module is the LDA.

Originality/value

The originality of the paper derives from the data analysis component and its security protocol/schema that fulfils several requirements.

Details

Journal of Systems and Information Technology, vol. 20 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1328-7265

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 22 March 2011

Sergei Ablameiko, Nikolai Kalosha, Denis Lipen and Vitaly Lipen

The research is aimed at developing an efficient electronic voting platform that would offer distinct advantages over traditional paper ballot voting and the available electronic…

Abstract

Purpose

The research is aimed at developing an efficient electronic voting platform that would offer distinct advantages over traditional paper ballot voting and the available electronic voting systems.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on the analysis of the existing technologies and the authors' prior findings, electronic voting was approached as a public information and communication technologies service.

Findings

A new methodology of forming election event outcomes is proposed, which is based on the outcomes of internet transactions between web portals such as “The Guarantor” and millions of remote electors, voting event officials and independent observers (auditors). The paper presents the structure of a state‐scale voting system that collects, processes publishes the results of different election events.

Originality/value

The system can accept votes cast online by internet or SMS, by mail, via electronic kiosks and by special computer‐filled paper ballots at polling stations. The system also provides a number of new possibilities for network verification of voter registration and the individual votes without compromising the voters' privacy. A model implementation of a web portal for remote monitoring of election events and individual outcome verification is presented.

Details

Transforming Government: People, Process and Policy, vol. 5 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-6166

Keywords

1 – 10 of 280