For me, the very first thing that comes to mind when anyone mentions “digital democracy” is online voting. More specifically, when I get to thinking about notions of digital democracies, a question immediately pops into my head: would this be a good idea?
It is easier, perhaps, for individuals living in the Western world to be inclined to say that online voting would be a great idea. After all, what better way to ‘cure’ voter apathy than to allow individuals to vote for their next leader in the comfort of their own home and at their leisure? Hell, they could even vote in their pajamas! How could this possibly not be a good thing?
The only problem is that this is based strictly on a very privileged way of thinking; one that assumes that individuals, across the board, have access to the internet or to a computer. In the U.S. and Canada and throughout much of Europe, this is a luxury that a considerable portion of the population can say that they have. However, throughout much of the rest of the world, this is not the case at all. In this sense it is obvious that online voting would not be a viable option in most parts of the world. It should come as no surprise that online voting would cause more marginalization; relegating those without access to certain types of technology to the fringe of society. Clearly most of the world is not ready for digital democracy, in terms of online voting. However, it is equally important to ask whether or not it is even a good idea for the countries that do in fact have the ability to begin implementing this kind of system.
I am by no means an expert in online voting. I have a general idea of what this would mean–in theory– but I have no idae how this would actually play out in practice, regardless of how widespread access to the internet was in a country. Ultimately, I think in theory, online voting could help seriously curb a lot of the problems that arise from voter apathy and pure laziness. It could be a brilliant attempt to fix a lot of the preexisting circumstances that lead to pathetic voter turnouts. However, it is important to remember that online voting, while possibly having very positive effects on voter turnout, will only have such effects on those with access to the internet. This means severe inequality and an imbalanced opportunity for citizens. Which brings us, essentially, back to square one. After all, democracy is for everyone, and online voting, clearly, is not. Back to the drawing board, I suppose.
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