Does the Introduction of Online Voting Create Diversity in Representation?
| Author | Michael J Wigginton,Daniel Stockemer |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/14789299211064450 |
| Published date | 01 February 2023 |
| Date | 01 February 2023 |
| Subject Matter | The Null Hypothesis |
https://doi.org/10.1177/14789299211064450
Political Studies Review
2023, Vol. 21(1) 172 –182
© The Author(s) 2021
Article reuse guidelines:
sagepub.com/journals-permissions
DOI: 10.1177/14789299211064450
journals.sagepub.com/home/psrev
Does the Introduction of
Online Voting Create
Diversity in Representation?
Michael J Wigginton
and Daniel Stockemer
Abstract
The Internet’s effect on political communication is omnipresent. However, very few jurisdictions
around the globe allow their citizens to cast their ballot online. What are the electoral
consequences of this reform? Research, so far, has mainly looked at security considerations and
effects on turnout. In this research note, we broaden the scope of prior studies by examining the
effect of online voting on diversity in representation. Using the voting results of municipalities
in the Canadian province of Ontario both before and after the implementation of online voting,
we test whether this reform has increased the representation of women and youth. We do not
find that Internet voting has any significant impact on which candidates are elected, with both
the gender and age of elected mayors being constant across online and traditional elections. We
further find that the number of woman candidates does not increase with online voting.
Keywords
online voting, turnout, elections, Canada
Accepted: 16 November 2021
Introduction
The Internet is omnipresent in people’s personal, economic and political lives. As a means
of personal communication, messenger services such as Instagram, Twitter or Facebook
have largely replaced traditional means of communication such as mail or the telephone
(De Wet et al., 2016). In the business world, the Internet is the medium that primarily
connects companies and clients (Castells, 2002). And in the political world, the Internet
has become one of the most, if not the most, important medium to connect politicians to
voters (Dahlgren, 2005; Sullivan and Bélanger, 2016). Beyond its communication func-
tion, the Internet can also be a means of conducting elections. Several jurisdictions have
School of Political Studies, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
Corresponding author:
Michael J Wigginton, University of Ottawa, 120 University Private, Room 7005, Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5,
Canada.
Email: michael.wigginton@uottawa.ca
1064450PSW0010.1177/14789299211064450Political Studies ReviewWigginton and Stockemer
research-article2021
The Null Hypothesis
To continue reading
Request your trial