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The hopes that e‐voting would increase voter turnout have not really materialized; any turnout increases in those countries where Internet voting has been introduced have been negligible. But the effect of one mechanism by which this mode of voting might influence turnout is still largely unknown, namely its potential to keep voters voting at higher rates than paper voting, and thus if not reversing, then at least putting a halt to further decline in turnout. This article examines the degree to which people who vote on the Internet once carry on doing so, thereby testing the hypothesis that e‐voting is more habit forming than paper voting. We test if e‐voting displays traits typical of a habit, that is, being a self‐reinforced behavior detached from its original motivations. Survey data are analyzed from five consecutive and e‐enabled nationwide elections in Estonia between 2009 and 2015. The results suggest e‐voting to be very "sticky"; a first time e‐voter is very likely to stay e‐voting in subsequent elections at consistently higher rates than a typical paper voter is to stay paper voting, or a nonvoter to remain a nonvoter. The results call for a re‐examination of the association between Internet voting and turnout.

Recent years have seen increasing interest in internet voting in theory and practice. Proponents hope that modernizing the electoral process will boost turnout. Less optimistic scholars object that the new technology merely perpetuates existing patterns of participation. This study aims to arbitrate the controversy. New survey data from the 2007 general election in Estonia allow us to predict the usage of e-voting and its impact on electoral participation. We find that e-voting mostly affects 'peripheral' citizens (in a demographic and political sense), but only few of these citizens vote online in the first place. Conversely, the impact on typical e-voters is low. This 'bottleneck' effect explains why e-voting has failed to boost turnout but also points to a role in reducing political inequality.

Voting Advice Applications (VAA) are often praised as tools helping users to find their best matching candidates or parties. Using such tools, so the claim goes, might trigger a positive impact on electoral participation. We show that the relationship between VAA usage and the intention to take part in elections indeed exists. The mechanism through which users are drawn to the polls or, inversely, detracted from taking part in the elections is, however, primarily working through the extent with which users' preferences overlap with those of the political parties running in the campaign. The further users find themselves away - in terms of this overlap - from the political parties, the higher the probability of a VAA deterring this user from participating. [Copyright Elsevier Ltd.]

E-voting has the potential to lower participation thresholds and increase turnout, but its technical complexity may produce other barriers to participation. Using Rogers' theory of the diffusion of innovations, we examined how the use of e-voting has changed over time. Data from eight e-enabled elections between 2005 and 2015 in Estonia, were used to investigate changes to the profile of e-voters and contrast them to those voting by conventional means. Owing to the aggregate share of e-voters increasing with each election, with one third of voters now casting their vote remotely over the internet, there was a lack of conclusive evidence regarding whether the new voting technology had diffused homogenously among the voting population, or remained a channel for the resourceful and privileged. Our findings show that diffusion has taken place, but not until after the first three e-enabled elections. Thus, internet voting has the potential to be used by a wide range of voter types, bridge societal divisions, and emerge as an inclusive innovative voting technology.

Available online 12 July 2016 ; E-voting has the potential to lower participation thresholds and increase turnout, but its technical complexity may produce other barriers to participation. Using Rogers' theory of the diffusion of innovations, we examined how the use of e-voting has changed over time. Data from eight e-enabled elections between 2005 and 2015 in Estonia, were used to investigate changes to the profile of e-voters and contrast them to those voting by conventional means. Owing to the aggregate share of e-voters increasing with each election, with one third of voters now casting their vote remotely over the internet, there was a lack of conclusive evidence regarding whether the new voting technology had diffused homogenously among the voting population, or remained a channel for the resourceful and privileged. Our findings show that diffusion has taken place, but not until after the first three e-enabled elections. Thus, internet voting has the potential to be used by a wide range of voter types, bridge societal divisions, and emerge as an inclusive innovative voting technology. (C) 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. ; This research was supported by Estonian Research Council grant nr. PUT523.