Dimensiones discursivas en torno al voto electrónico

The implementation of electronic voting in electoral administration has generated different opinions and ideas about its impact in the quality of democracy. As it has happened with many new technologies, some people see electronic voting as the breakdown of the representative democracy, whereas others consider it the beginning of a new era: digital democracy. This article identifies the two general forms in which it is found nowadays: the electronic voting machine and the e-vote. The dimensions that converge in the present debate are comparatively studied: the quality of democracy, new information technologies and electoral administration. An framework analysis is proposed to understand both the discourse positions on the implementation of electronic voting within a pessimistic-optimistic continuum and its actual potentialities in electoral administration. Finally, the political and social elements to be considered in the implementation of electronic voting are signaled. The article presents electronic voting as a mere instrument in electoral administration which may help to improve the quality of democracy as long as the context and conditions of the country where it is used are permeable to the potentialities of new technologies.