Towards Cyber-democracy: True Representation

摘要

True elector representation in democratic processes can be achieved in a safe and secure environment using the Internet as the electoral vehicle. Clift(2000) maintains that democracy is run by the people who show up, and states that the Internet will bring people closer to the democratic processes of government. This paper describes a qualitative research study conducted by Carter (2001) in which both the barriers and opportunities for electronic voting in New Zealand were explored. The aim was to seek an understanding of the relationship between evoting and electoral improvement. Primary data was collected from voters using a multiple case-study methodology involving the use of an evoting prototype. Secondary data was obtained from an extensive literature review. Analysis of the results showed that there was strong support for the evoting prototype. Further research is required to identify the acceptability level by the New Zealand voting population.