Title: Users' experiences with e-voting: a comparative case study

Authors: Anne-Marie Oostveen, Peter Van den Besselaar

Addresses: Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford, 1 St Giles, Oxford, OX1 3JS, UK. ' Science System Assessment Department, Rathenau Instituut, P.O. Box 95366, 2509 CJ Den Haag, The Netherlands

Abstract: A system for electronic voting (e-voting) was developed and tested in 14 field studies. This enabled us to investigate the actual experiences of users when deploying this type of e-governance technology. Are users satisfied with e-voting technology and its usability? Do social groups have different opinions and use of the technology? Does this relate to a digital divide? Will e-voting technology result in increasing voter turnout? We identified serious risks of adoption of e-voting systems for the democratic process, and the assumption that e-voting will increase overall voter turnout is not supported by our research.

Keywords: user experience; e-voting; usability; voter turnout; digital divide; electronic voting; e-democracy; electronic democracy; e-governance; electronic governance.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEG.2009.030527

International Journal of Electronic Governance, 2009 Vol.2 No.4, pp.357 - 377

Published online: 20 Dec 2009 *

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