A new report, released today by the Centre for E-Democracy and authored by Nicole Goodman and Heather Pyman, presents findings from surveys of Internet voters, paper voters, candidates, and election administrators during the 2014 municipal elections in Ontario. Overall, the report finds that there is a broad level of support for Internet voting amongst stakeholders. Voters are satisfied with the process, and administrators are not only satisfied with their experience, but likely to recommend the use of Internet voting in elections at the provincial and federal level. Other key findings in the report include:
- When offered alongside other methods of voting, Internet voting is the preference amongst a majority of voters
- A strong majority of voters would recommend that their peers use Internet voting
- Voters who are older, educated, wealthier, interested in politics, and report voting in past elections primarily use Internet voting for reasons of convenience
- A small proportion of non-voters are inclined to participate electorally at the municipal level because of Internet voting, but this group is modest
- Municipalities are most likely to adopt Internet voting to enhance accessibility and convenience
- Some non-voters may be encouraged to participate online, but it is not a solution to counter declining voter turnout or to engage young people
- Older voters are the biggest users of the service and can present a challenge to deployment
- Internet voting impacts voting patterns, especially when offered in the advance portion of the election
- The cost of Internet voting depends on the model and approach used
- Education and outreach are the biggest challenges for implementation
You can read the full Internet Voting Project Report here.
AMCTO Policy 