A Framework for Voters’ Trust Repair in Internet Voting

Abstract

Research on voters’ trust in i-voting has been exclusively related to building trust in the process of i-voting adoption, with no work addressing the question of trust repair. This article introduces a framework for trust repair in i-voting by integrating insights from trust repair in other research areas, as well as concepts developed for and used in the e-voting literature. The article traces the process of trust repair from the different beliefs influencing voters’ trust in both the human and technological dimensions of an i-voting system, through the influence of the internal and external stakeholders, to trust violations and the i-voting organisers’ strategies for trust repair and the ‘arsenal’ of measures at their disposal. The article highlights the importance of detecting the emergence of events that may violate trust among voters, understanding the severity and dimensions of trust violation, and strategically navigating trust repair. It also outlines open questions and identifies avenues for future research.