Abstract
The timeline representing the policy area of e-voting (Internet voting) in the United States has not been a long one. A generous individual casting his/her ‘net’ far afield may argue that the roots of this policy area may have started back as far as 1992 when presidential candidate Ross Perot proposed the concept of electronic town-hall meetings — suggesting the potential of the Internet for increasing citizen participation in the electoral process. A more conservative and systematic approach might date to the Clinton/Gore presidential administration, which placed a strong emphasis on public policy to bring the nation into the information age. The Clinton/Gore administration spent much of the 1990s promoting the idea of ‘reinventing government’, using technology as well as other administrative reforms to improve government efficiency and citizen participation (see Osborne and Gaebler 1992). During this administration, programmes such as the Technology Opportunities Programme (TOP) under the Department of Commerce and the Community Technology Centre (CTC) initiative and the E-rate administered by the Department of Education were put into place to increase Internet access among American citizens, particularly disadvantaged groups. A purist, however, might start this timeline in January 2000.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsPreview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Alvarez, M. and Hall, T. (2004) Point Click and Vote. Washington, DC,: The Brookings Institution Press.
Alvarez, M. and Nagler, J. (2002) ‘The Likely Consequences of Internet Voting for Political Representation’, Loyola University Law Review, Los Angeles, California.
Bimber, B. (2001) ‘Information and Political Engagement in America: The Search for Effects of Information Technology at the Individual Level’, Political Research Quarterly, 54(1): 53–67.
Blumler, J. and McQuail, D. (1969) Television and Politics: Its Uses and Influence. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Bowler, S. and Donovan, T. (2004) Reforming the Republic. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Bowler, S., Donovan, T. and Tolbert, C. J. (eds) (1998) Citizens as Legislators: Direct Democracy in the United States. Columbus: Ohio State University Press.
California. Office of the Secretary of the State (2000) California Internet Voting Task Force Report, <http://www.ss.ca.gov/executive/ivote/>
Campbell, A., Converse, P. E., Miller, W. E. and Stokes, D. E. (1960) The American Voter. Chicago, Ill.: University of Chicago Press.
Clift, S. (2000) The E-Democracy E-Book: Democracy is Online 2.0, <http://www.e-democracy.org.>
Future of Internet Voting (2000) ‘A Symposium Co-Sponsored by the Brookings Institution and Systems, Inc.’, <http://www.brookings.org/comm/transcripts/20000120.htm>
Gibson, R. (2001) ‘Elections Online: Assessing Internet Voting in Light of the Arizona Democratic Primary’, Political Science Quarterly, 116(4): 561–83.
Initiative and Referendum Institute (2000) ‘California Initiative Review Report: Analysis of Internet Voting Proposals’, http://www.iandrinstitute.org/
Initiative and Referendum Institute (2002) Washington, DC, ‘Ballot Watch’, <http://www.ballotwatch.org>
Internet Policy Institute (2001) Report of the National Workshop on Internet Voting: Issues and Research Agenda, <http://www.Internetpolicy.org/research/results.html>
Karp, J. and Banducci, S. (2000) ‘Going Postal: How All-Mail Elections Influence Turnout’, Political Behavior, 22(3): 223–39.
King, G. (1997) A Solution to the Ecological Inference Problem. Harvard, Mass: Cambridge University Press.
Livingston, B. (2001) ‘First Congressionally Mandated Internet Vote Points The Way to Technology of the Year’, InfoWorld, 23(5): 78.
McChesney, R. (1999) Rich Media, Poor Democracy: Communication Policy in Dubious Times. Urbana, Ill. University of Illinois Press.
McLeod, J. and Becker, L. B. (1974) ‘Testing the Validity of Gratification Measures Through Political Effects Analysis’, in J. Blumler and E. Katz (eds), The Uses of Mass Communication: Current Perspectives on Gratification Research. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
Morrow, J. (1999) ‘The Mouse That Voted’, U.S. News and World Report, 126(24): 30.
Mossberger, K., Tolbert, C. J. and Stansbury, M. (2003) Virtual Inequality: Beyond the Digital Divide. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press.
Norris, P. (2001) Digital Divide: Civic Engagement, Information Poverty, and the Internet Worldwide. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Osborne, D. and Gaebler, T. (1992) Reinventing Government: How the Entrepreneurial Spirit is Transforming the Public Sector. Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley.
Range, S.(2004) ‘Internet Voting Wins Praise of Party Leadership’ Lansing State Journal, <http://www.lsj.com/news/local/040208internet_9a.html>
Schmidt, D. D. (1989) Citizen Lawmakers: The Ballot Initiative Revolution. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
Shah, D., Kwak, N. and Holbert, L. (2001) ‘“Connecting” and “Disconnecting” with Civic Life: Patterns of Internet Use and the Production of Social Capital’, Political Organizations 18: 141–62.
Smith, D. and Tolbert, C. (2004) Educated by Initiative: The Effects of Direct Democracy on Citizens and Political Organizations in the American States. Ann Arbor MI: University of Michigan Press.
Solop, F. I. (2000) ‘Digital Democracy Comes of Age in Arizona: Participation and Politics in the First Binding Internet Election’. Presented at Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association, Washington, DC, 31 August–3 September 2000.
Southwell, P. and Burchett, J. (2000a) ‘Does Changing the Rules Change the Players? The Effect of All-Mail Elections on the Composition of the Turnout’, Social Science Quarterly, 82: 72–9.
Southwell. P. and Burchett, J. (2000b) ‘The Effect of All-Mail Elections on Voter Turnout’, Social Science Quarterly, 82: 72–9.
Storey, T. (2001) ‘In Search of a Perfect Election’, State Legislature, 27(2): 17–18.
Tolbert, C. (1998) ‘Changing the Rules for State Legislatures: Direct Democracy and Governance Policy’, in S. Bowler, T. Donovan and C. Tolbert (eds), Citizens as Legislators: Direct Democracy in the United States, Columbus: Ohio State University Press.
Tolbert, C. (2001) ‘Rethinking Lowi’s Constituent Policy: Governance Policy and Direct Democracy’, Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy, 20(1): 75–93.
Tolbert, C. and McNeal, R. (2003) ‘Unraveling the Effects of the Internet on Political Participation’, Political Research Quarterly, 56(2): 175–85.
US Department of Commerce. National Telecommunication and Information Administration (1995) Falling Through the Net: A Survey of the ‘Have Nots’ in Rural and Urban America, <http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/fallingthru. html>
US Department of Commerce. National Telecommunication and Information Administration (2002) A Nation Online: How Americans are Expanding their Use of the Internet, <http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/dn/anationonline2.pdf/>
Wallace, B. (2000) ‘Payyourparkingtickets.gov — Coming to a Town Near You’, PC World, 18(6): 70–1.
Wenner, L. A. (1983) ‘Political News on Television: A Reconsideration of Audience Orientation’, Western Journal of Speech Communication, 47: 380–95.
Verba, S., Schlozman, K. L. and Brady, H. E. (1995) Voice and Equality: Civic Voluntarism in American Politics. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Wolfinger, R. and Rosenstone, S. J. (1980) Who Votes? New Haven: Yale University Press.
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 2004 Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
McNeal, R.S., Tolbert, C.J. (2004). Support for Online Voting in the United States. In: Kersting, N., Baldersheim, H. (eds) Electronic Voting and Democracy. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230523531_13
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230523531_13
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-51891-3
Online ISBN: 978-0-230-52353-1
eBook Packages: Palgrave Political & Intern. Studies CollectionPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)