The Adoption and Challenges of Electronic Voting Technologies Within the South African Context
Mourine Achieng and Ephias Ruhode
Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Cape Town, South Africa
Abstract
Literature has shown that countries such as Brazil and India have successfully implemented electronic
voting systems and other countries are at various piloting stages to address many challenges associated
with manual paper based system such ascosts of physical ballot paper and other overheads, electoral
delays, distribution of electoral materials, and general lack of confidence in the electoral process. It is in
this context that this study explores how South African can leverage the opportunities that e-voting
presents. Manual voting is often tedious, non-secure, and time-consuming, which leads us to think about
using electronic facilities to make the process more efficient. This study proposes that the adoption of
electronic voting technologies could perhaps mitigate some of these issues and challengesin the process
improving the electoral process. The study used an on-line questionnaire which was administered to a
broader group of voters and an in-depth semi-structured interview with the Independent Electoral
Commission officials. The analysis is based on thematic analysis and diffusion of innovations theory is
adopted as a theoretical lens of analysis. The findings reveal that relative advantage, compatibility and
complexity would determine the intentions of South African voters and the Electoral Management Bodies
(IEC) to adopt e-voting technologies. Moreover, the findings also reveal several other factorsthat could
influence the adoption process. The study is limited to only voters in Cape Town and these voters were
expected to have some access to the internet. The sample size limits the generalizability of the findings of
this study.
Keywords
Electronic voting technology, Diffusion of Innovation (DoI), E-democracy, &E-governance
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