Attitudes of Polish Voters Towards Introduction of e-Voting in the Context of Political Factors

Abstract

Despite the lack of legal basis, electronic voting has been present in the public discourse in Poland for over ten years. This can be seen in particular before parliamentary, presidential, local or European elections. Then, political parties, while trying to raise their election capital, declare their willingness to implement innovative methods of voting (e.g. i-voting) in elections to make the election process more convenient for those entitled to vote. Parties assume that this can mobilize the part of the electorate which typically does not utilize their universal suffrage.

The main objective of this article is to analyze and explain to what degree (and to what extent) political preferences may affect the choice made by voters, provided it is possible to have electronic voting as a method of their participation in elections. We ask the question: if the voters’ opinion on e-voting correlates with the opinions of the political parties for which they are voting. While looking for the answer to this question, the authors have assumed that there is a relationship between the political variable such as the preference and opinions on the use of modern forms of voting. To verify this diagnosis, we make a statistical analysis of the data coming from a survey implemented between March and May 2018 in Poland. Research findings lead to a general conclusion that political preferences are a statistically significant predicator for voters’ attitudes towards the introduction and use of voting over the Internet.

This article has been written as a part of a research project: E-voting as an alternative way of voting procedures in national elections. Experiences of selected countries and prospects for implementation e-voting in Poland (E-voting jako alternatywna procedura głosowania w elekcjach państwowych. Doświadczenia wybranych państw a perspektywy wdrożenia e-głosowania w Polsce) funded by the National Science Center in Poland UMO-2014/15/B/HS5/01358.