Modeling User Acceptance of Electronic Voting: An Extended Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) Approach

Abstract

Election voting has emerged as a significant alternative to conventional voting methods with testimonials of its implementation showing various degrees of success in some countries of the western world. Lately, many developing countries are also looking at its prospects as a replacement or supplement for traditional paper balloting which is, the principal voting method in most of these countries. However, the voting populace’ acceptance of this technology is a major factor that needs to be considered before its actual introduction owning to factors that includes, digital divides, low literacy level, norms and beliefs, high poverty level and so on. From another viewpoint, due to the peculiarity of contextual ICT infrastructural challenges of developing countries, there is a need to investigate the factors that will influence adoption decision and eventual usage when planning to introduce electronic voting so that the evolving system will not end up being impractical for the target users. In this study, an empirical investigation of the factors influencing the adoption decision of electronic voting was carried out.  More specifically, this study aimed at examining the possibilities and intents towards mobile voting (which is a type of electronic voting), among a selected sample population of electorates in Nigeria. In the study, an extended Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) that integrates Subjective norm, Perceived compatibility, Perceived privacy, Perceived security, Perceived price value and Perceived trust into the original TAM constructs was proposed. A total of 1364 sample data were collected from a selected population of electorates who had at one time or the other participated in at least an electioneering process in Nigeria.  The data was then analyzed statistically using Partial Least Square           Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The results obtained show that all variables have significant effect on the electorates’ behavioural intention to use mobile voting except for perceived privacy.