Title: Smartvote.lu: usage and impact of the first VAA in Luxembourg

Authors: Patrick Dumont; Raphaël Kies

Addresses: University of Luxembourg (IPSE), Research Program on European Governance, Route de Diekirch, B.P. 2 L-7201 Walferdange, Luxembourg ' University of Luxembourg (IPSE), Research Program on European Governance, Route de Diekirch, B.P. 2 L-7201 Walferdange, Luxembourg

Abstract: This paper analyses the electoral usage and impact of smartvote.lu, the first Voting Advice Application (VAA) introduced in Luxembourg at the occasion of the 2009 national elections. We devise a series of expectations regarding the use and impact of the instrument and provide both descriptive and multivariate analyses on data drawn from a 'classical' post-electoral survey representative of all voters. Despite the need for studies using this type of empirical material and multivariate methods to draw valid lessons on the determinants of VAA use and the potential electoral impact of these devices, such a combination is still rare in the nascent literature on VAAs, and arguably allows us to make a valuable contribution to it. Our main finding is that the most educated are more likely to use the VAAs but less likely to be influenced by it.

Keywords: voting advice applications; VAAs; Smartvote; e-democracy; Luxembourg; national elections; electoral behaviour; electoral impact; election campaigning; internet; voting aid application; electronic democracy; electoral campaigns.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEG.2012.051302

International Journal of Electronic Governance, 2012 Vol.5 No.3/4, pp.388 - 410

Received: 16 Feb 2012
Accepted: 19 Sep 2012
Published online: 04 Jan 2013 *

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