Trust in Government or in Technology? What Really Drives Internet Voting.

Internet voting is considered a crucial potential technological innovation, and scholars agree that trust plays a key role for its adoption and use by citizens. But which type of trust is essential, trust in government or trust in technology? We leverage on a cross-sectional analysis and a preregist...

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Published in:Political Research Quarterly Vol. 78; no. 2; pp. 783 - 797
Main Authors: Abdala, M. Belén, Plescia, Carolina, Boyer, Ming M., Brunetti, Anna Lia
Format: Article
Published: Sage Publications Inc. Jun2025
Subjects:
Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
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        atl: Trust in Government or in Technology? What Really Drives Internet Voting.
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        au:
          Abdala, M. Belén
          Plescia, Carolina
          Boyer, Ming M.
          Brunetti, Anna Lia
        affil:
          27258 University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
          1190 Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
      su:
        Trust
        Technological innovations
        Cross-sectional method
        Internet voting
        Political trust (in government)
      sug:
        subj:
          Trust
          Technological innovations
          Cross-sectional method
          Internet voting
          Political trust (in government)
      keyword:
        experiment
        internet voting
        political behavior
        trust
        turnout
        voting modalities
        experiment
        internet voting
        political behavior
        trust
        turnout
        voting modalities
      ab: Internet voting is considered a crucial potential technological innovation, and scholars agree that trust plays a key role for its adoption and use by citizens. But which type of trust is essential, trust in government or trust in technology? We leverage on a cross-sectional analysis and a preregistered online experiment in Estonia to test a multidimensional trust framework. Examining the impact of trust dimensions on i-voting likelihood, we unveil a robust correlation between trust in government and in i-voting technology. While both elicit the intention to i-vote, trust in technology emerges as a stronger driver for the decision between online or in-person voting. These findings significantly contribute to comprehending i-voting and offer insights into the practical implementation of technology in democratic processes.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype: Article
      src: R
    language: English
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