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Online Voting in Indigenous Communities: Lessons from Canada

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Electronic Voting (E-Vote-ID 2018)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNSC,volume 11143))

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Abstract

Most studies of online voting examine adoption at national and subnational levels or among municipal governments. Very few examinations, however, focus on implementation in Indigenous communities. Drawing on community-engaged survey work with three First Nations in Canada – Tsuut’ina Nation, Wasauksing First Nation and Whitefish River First Nation, 27 interviews with Indigenous leaders, identified experts, online voting vendors and federal government representatives as well as a focus group, we examine why Indigenous communities in Canada are drawn to online voting, who is using it, potential impacts on participation, and good practices that can be learnt from these experiences. Our findings suggest broad support for online voting and satisfaction from Indigenous voters. Though online voters tend to be older, educated, wealthier and live off reserve, survey results indicate online ballots could engage some Indigenous electors to vote more frequently. Notably, we find that online voting is a critical tool to reach and engage off reserve citizens. Finally, we outline a number of good practices for online voting deployment that fall into four themes: (1) community knowledge and engagement (2) tools and strategies, (3) clear processes and resources, and (4) a focus on technology.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    These are provided in a report prepared for Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada with examples from Indigenous communities. To keep within length requirements, it was not possible to include a copy in this article.

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Acknowledgement

The authors would like to extend sincere thanks to Tsuut’ina Nation, Wasauksing First Nation, and Whitefish River First Nation as well as the many experts who participated in interviews. We acknowledge financial support from the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the Government of Canada, and Chelsea Gabel’s Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Well- Being, Community, Engagement and Innovation.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Political Science, Brock University, St. Catharines, Canada

    Nicole Goodman

  2. Department of Health, Aging and Society and Indigenous Studies Program, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada

    Chelsea Gabel

  3. Department of Political Science, University of Guelph, Guelph, Canada

    Brian Budd

Authors
  1. Nicole Goodman
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  2. Chelsea Gabel
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  3. Brian Budd
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Nicole Goodman .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Tallinn University of Technology, Tallinn, Estonia

    Robert Krimmer

  2. Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Karlsruhe, Germany

    Melanie Volkamer

  3. LORIA, Vandoeuvre-lès-Nancy Cedex, France

    Véronique Cortier

  4. Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia

    Rajeev Goré

  5. University of New South Wales, Canberra, ACT, Australia

    Manik Hapsara

  6. Ritsumeikan University, Kusatsu, Shiga, Japan

    Uwe Serdült

  7. Tallinn University of Technology, Tallinn, Estonia

    David Duenas-Cid

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Goodman, N., Gabel, C., Budd, B. (2018). Online Voting in Indigenous Communities: Lessons from Canada. In: Krimmer, R., et al. Electronic Voting. E-Vote-ID 2018. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 11143. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-00419-4_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-00419-4_5

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-00418-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-00419-4

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