Trust in Government or in Technology? What Really Drives Internet Voting.

Internet voting is considered a crucial potential technological innovation, and scholars agree that trust plays a key role for its adoption and use by citizens. But which type of trust is essential, trust in government or trust in technology? We leverage on a cross-sectional analysis and a preregistered online experiment in Estonia to test a multidimensional trust framework. Examining the impact of trust dimensions on i-voting likelihood, we unveil a robust correlation between trust in government and in i-voting technology. While both elicit the intention to i-vote, trust in technology emerges as a stronger driver for the decision between online or in-person voting. These findings significantly contribute to comprehending i-voting and offer insights into the practical implementation of technology in democratic processes.