The trend of online voting in Africa is similar to that of many other places: its popularity is increasing.
Online voting has been used more and more in elections for associations and votes for governmental leadership. This is because online elections offer security and convenience. Read on to learn more about why the trend in Africa and elsewhere is towards digital elections!
Switching to online voting isn’t a change to be taken lightly, but when it’s done right, it can provide staggering upsides.
One of the main appeals of online voting is its security. Thanks to advancements in digital communication, it’s now possible for information to be transferred in a way that it cannot be opened or tampered with.
Encryption is the process by which data is converted into an unreadable code so that no one without the key can see its contents. This is valuable in online elections because voters are much less likely to participate if they believe their privacy–both their personal information and the way they vote–is at risk.
Security in an election also means securing the results. With digital elections, there’s no more need to worry about misplaced votes, miscounted tallies, or other human errors. While there’s a certain comfort in people handling votes, rather than them being calculated behind a screen, there’s often more comfort in knowing there’s no risk of someone making a mistake.
Online voting has become more popular across the world in large part because of convenience. Trying to increase involvement in elections is an ongoing struggle for both organizations and governments, and online voting can help that.
Having to travel to a polling place can be a major inconvenience for people, especially if they must take public transportation to do so. Furthermore, there can be long lines in bad weather, making the situation more unbearable. If a voter is working on the day of an election, they might decide that they don’t have the time to spare.
Convenience increases voter participation, but it also increases voter investment. The more voters who participate, the more people who are connected with the outcome.
If the outcome has a direct impact on their lives, the more likely they are to vote again. This ever-growing cycle of faith in the process and trust in the efficacy of democracy can be started off simply by introducing online voting and making the process more convenient.
While there are many upsides to online voting, there are some hurdles organizations in Africa and elsewhere must take into consideration.
As mentioned above, some people are uncomfortable with the idea that votes are tabulated by a series of ones and zeros outside the view of anyone. To counteract this, election holders must communicate clearly and consistently with voters so that they understand every step of the way. Part of this transparency includes communicating about audits of results, if such steps are needed.
There are some people who aren’t particularly adept with certain kinds of technology. If some of the voter demographic falls into this category, moving an election online can have the opposite effect of increasing turnout. To counteract this, it’s important to provide classes or instructional videos to help those unsure about voting online to feel comfortable participating.
Online voting still has some kinks to be worked out, but it continues to grow in popularity in Africa and across the world. With some careful work shoring up its weaknesses, it can provide a wave of convenience and security to elections!
If you want to learn about more detailed examples of online voting, check out our post on organizational elections in Kenya.
© 2011-2024 ElectionBuddy, Inc. All Rights Reserved
