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This report presents and analyses the results of a post-election survey carried out in Estonia after the 2007 parliamentary elections. The focus of the analysis lies on the newly introduced possibility of voting via the Internet in these elections. The authors measure the impact of socio-demographic, economic, political and technology-related variables on the choice of e-voting at the individual level. The following conclusions are drawn:

• E-voting in Estonia is mainly used by younger generations of the electorate
• Language remains a problem in this linguistically divided society, unless the authorities offer the e-voting tool in a multi-lingual context
• ICT variables such as computing knowledge and frequency of internet use constitute a barrier for e-voting
• Independent of other considerations, the trust of citizens in the mechanism of e-voting is a central issue
• Some ‘non-results’ are of equal importance. For example, e-voting is completely neutral with respect to gender, income, education and type of settlement
• A broad faith in the political leaders seems to foster the acceptance of new means of participation such as e-voting
• Both voter and political parties are quickly adapting to Internet elections as well as the Internet as an information source
• Internet voters are more likely to obtain election information online and talk about the election with co-workers and family members

Recommendations:

• The efforts towards the strengthening of the information society in Estonia must remain a priority if e-voting is to be a permanent feature of Estonia’s political landscape
• Though online e-campaigning is growing in importance, parties, candidates and media should still be encourage to target the broadest electorate possible so that new voters can be drawn into the voting process
• Maintain the high degree of transparency to ensure a fast learning process about the features of this novel voting channel
• A debate needs to be initiated about possible future certification regimes
• In order not to become a means of exclusion and to give all potential voters the same opportunities to participate, the authors recommend that the Internet voting application and related information become available in Russian
• Establishment of ‘electoral platforms’ in which e-voting is an important but not exclusive element
• The three-day voting period for Internet voting is insufficient. Extending this period would attract more e-voters and lead to improved security
  

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