Nicole Goodman Joins Delvinia to Study Effects of Online Voting

Hi, my name is Nicole Goodman. I am a PhD candidate at Carleton University in Ottawa. My scholarly interests include Canadian political institutions, especially electoral institutions, turnout, survey methodology, citizenship and civic duty, and the effect of the Internet on elections and political participation. My current work is focused on voting turnout, particularly among young people, and Internet voting. I am very excited to be working with Delvinia on a project examining the effects of online ballots in the Town of Markham by surveying electors and candidates.

To give you some background information, Markham was the first major Canadian municipality to introduce Internet voting as an alternative voting method; and this will be the third consecutive election in which it is offered. Many people don’t know this, but Canada is quickly emerging as a leader in Internet voting. On October 25, 2010 (municipal election day in Ontario) for example, 44 municipalities across the province will be offering Internet voting, This means that an estimated 800,000 eligible electors will have the option of casting their ballot online at some point during the election period. Given the amount of binding elections using Internet voting, and the interest that is being generated at provincial and federal levels of government, it is important to start collecting data from the public and other election stakeholders and studying the effects of Internet voting on elections in Canada.

Delvinia was the first to start a research programme examining Internet voting in 2003 when Adam and his team conducted an exit poll of Internet voters. They then repeated a similar survey and issued report of the findings from the 2006 election. My role in the 2010 version of this project is to help Delvinia refine its public opinion surveys and analyze the findings by generating a report. I also hope to produce some academic papers examining the impact of Internet voting in Canadian municipal elections to create awareness on this very important topic. There is a significant research gap as far as the effects of Internet voting are concerned and I am proud to be working with Delvinia and contributing toward creating a research programme and collecting attitudinal data over time. This information is important for governments and policy makers, elections management bodies, relevant community and professional organizations, citizens, and academics both within Canada and abroad.

I would like to thank Adam Froman and the Town of Markham for recognizing the importance of this research and giving me the opportunity to make a contribution to this study.

Over 17,000 residents registered for Internet Voting for the Markham Municipal Election

Apart from the fact that Delvinia is helping to promote the election and the option to vote online in the Markham municipal election, I am actively involved in helping to spread the word amongst the candidates. Next to the media, the candidates are one of the best channels to spread the word to electors about their options.

This is the first of the three elections that we have worked on with Markham that we have introduced a social media component to create awareness about the election. The objective of the DIY Markham campaign has been to engage residents to understand what life would be like without municipal services.

There are almost 200 people who now “Like” the DIY Markham campaign, and I have taken it upon myself to engage the candidates to embrace the DIY Campaign as part of their own and not only ensure that they are telling Markham residents about “Liking” DIY Markham, but that they are sharing the messages within the campaign.

The response by many of the candidates have been fantastic and we have even seen some of the candidates both using the DIY Markham Facebook page to share important information about the election and actively promoting the DIY Markham page on their own Facebook pages.

When registration for Internet Voting closed on Friday, there were 17,231 eligible Markham voters who have signed up for Internet Voting. That’s up over 6% from 2006. On Saturday, the first day of early voting, 1,162 votes were cast online. Internet Voting is open until Thursday, Oct 21st.

This year we have also continued our Internet Voting research, and we have partnered with Ryerson University who has received an NSERC grant to assist us in providing a more scholarly approach to our Internet Voting research. We are currently running our exit survey for everyone that votes online, we are studying the impact of social media on the election process and we will be conducting a candidate survey after the election.

To stay on top of what is going on with Internet Voting in the Markham Election, make sure you “Like” the DIY Markham Facebook page.

Town of Markham Launches ‘Do It Yourself Markham’ Awareness Campaign

“Do It Yourself Markham” campaign uses Facebook, Twitter and video to create awareness and promote word-of-mouth.

Today, the town of Markham launches a social media awareness campaign, designed and implemented by Delvinia, to inform Markham residents about the upcoming municipal election on October 25, 2010. “Do it Yourself Markham”, orDIY Markham ) is a social media campaign being implemented through Twitter and Facebook designed to increase awareness about the importance of municipal services as part of the overall “Your Vote Counts” campaign for the election.

The Do It Yourself Markham or DIY Markham social media campaign is at the centre of an overall voter outreach program that includes direct mail flyers, registration cards, print ads and billboards. A technological leader and highly innovative municipality, Markham has been offering Internet Voting to residents since 2003, and experienced a 48% growth in online voting and an increase in overall voter turnout during the 2006 election. This will be the third consecutive election that Delvinia will be working with Markham on the voter outreach program focused on creating awareness about the upcoming election and the option of Internet Voting is a convenient way to cast their ballot.

“For the past two elections we used the Markham election website as the primary destination to inform and educate voters.” “This year, given the growth and adoption of social media, educating voters within the social networks and communities where they interact is at the centre of our awareness plan.”

The objective of the DIY Markham campaign is to use the power of social media to increase awareness of the importance of voting in a municipal election. The humourous and easy-to-share videos describe a world where you are responsible for your own municipal services – such as garbage removal and water treatment – and how in the end, the easiest way to address these issues is to vote. The first two videos being released today depict Parks & Recreation and Fire Services in a “tongue-in-cheek” scenario of what a “Do It Yourself” version of these services might look like. Additional videos, including humourous depictions of garbage collection and water services will be released over the next three weeks. The intent is for people to share the videos with their communities, spreading the word on social networks such as Twitter and Facebook.

“DIY Markham is there to make people stop and think about what they would do if they were responsible for their own municipal services,” says Froman. “Municipal government is very important in all of our lives and with the convenience of Internet Voting, Markham residents have all they need to ensure they take the time to get out and vote.”

Delvinia is also committed to continuing its research into understanding the impact of Internet Voting during a binding election and will expand on its research and reports completed after the last two elections and published on www.delvinia.com/egov. Delvinia will partner with university researchers to expand the attitudinal research they have conducted in the past two elections.

Twitter
Facebook
YouTube