AUT expert: Electronic voting no silver bullet
Following disappointing turnout levels in local government elections across New Zealand, a public policy expert is warning against assumptions that technology will solve the issue.
According to a review by Senior Researcher Julienne Molineaux of The Policy Observatory at AUT, the benefits of online voting have to be weighed up against security concerns and the real reasons for voter apathy.
“Engagement issues such as not knowing enough about the candidates and not being interested have been reported* as reasons for not participating by 44% of non-voters.”
“This compares to 24% of non-voters saying they forgot or left it too late,” says Molineaux
While young people, who are under-represented in voter turnout, report they would be more likely to vote if there was an online voting option, the other groups in favour of this option are already voting.
The AUT academic argues a range of issues need to be addressed, such as councils improving trust among their communities and a greater diversity of candidates who better reflect the general population.
“There is no silver bullet to improving turn-out for local body elections but low turnouts must be addressed as they undermine the legitimacy of the winners and can point to wider issues of disillusionment with democratic processes, institutions and actors.”
For the full report visit The Briefing Papers.
*Local Government New Zealand’s surveys of electors.