The DOI matches its Crossref record; 39 of the 40 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Digital dilemmas: the unintended consequences of election technology
Open accessAbstract
Digital technologies are increasingly used in elections around the world. Where the resources and capacity of the state are limited, some have argued that such technologies make it possible to rapidly “leapfrog” to cleaner and more credible elections. This article argues that the growing use of these technologies has been driven by the fetishization of technology rather than by rigorous assessment of their effectiveness; that they may create significant opportunities for corruption that (among other things) vitiate their potential impact; and that they carry significant opportunity costs. Indeed, precisely because new technology tends to deflect attention away from more “traditional” strategies, the failure of digital checks and balances often renders an electoral process even more vulnerable to rigging than it was before. These observations are not intended as a manifesto against the digitization of elections; apart from anything else, we argue that the drivers of the adoption of these new methods are too powerful to resist. But the analysis draws attention to the importance of more careful assessments of the problems, as well as the benefits, of such technologies – and to the need for more careful planning in their deployment.
Overview
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
In the citing paper
“We can extend to identification systems generally t he conclusion that 'the greatest gains from digitization come in countries where the quality of democracy is higher and the electoral commission more independent' (Cheeseman et al., 2018, p. 3; see also Piccolino, 2016).”
From The Sustainable Development Goals and 'legal identity for all': 'First, do no harm' (2021) · cites this paper as Cheeseman et al., 2018
Citations
Cites
Seeing like a State: How Certain Schemes to Improve the Human Condition Have Failed
Fukuyama, F., & Scott, J. C. (1998) · Foreign Affairs · doi:10.2307/20048980 · Cited by 8,418
The anti-politics machine: "development," depoliticization, and bureaucratic power in Lesotho
(1990) · Choice Reviews Online · doi:10.5860/choice.28-2279 · Cited by 3,595
Elections Without Democracy: The Rise of Competitive Authoritarianism
Levitsky, S., & Way, L. A. (2002) · Journal of democracy · doi:10.1353/jod.2002.0026 · Cited by 2,718
Seeing Like a State: How Certain Schemes to Improve the Human Condition Have Failed
Scott, J. (1999) · Cited by 2,179
Elections Without Democracy: The Menu of Manipulation
Schedler, A. (2002) · Journal of democracy · doi:10.1353/jod.2002.0031 · Cited by 1,620
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
University of Michigan (2020) · University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform · doi:10.36646/mjlr · Cited by 532
Proceedings of the British Academy, 1928
(1930) · Notes and Queries · doi:10.1093/nq/clix.dec27.467a · Cited by 517
Cheeseman, N. (2015) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9781139030892 · Cited by 354
Self-citationDemocratization, sequencing, and state failure in Africa: Lessons from Kenya
Branch, D., & Cheeseman, N. (2008) · African Affairs · doi:10.1093/afraf/adn065 · Cited by 292
Self-citationIdentification for Development: The Biometrics Revolution
Gelb, A., & Clark, J. (2013) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.2226594 · Cited by 176
Research works printed but not linked: 12
- Brigalia B., The Future of Elections. International Elections Advisory Council
- Carlos C. R., 2010, Democratic Deficits in the Philippines: What is to be Done
- Coalition of Domestic Election Observers (CODEO), 2013, Promoting a Peaceful, Transparent and Credible Biometric Voter Registration Process, Ghana’s Election 2012
- Evrensel A., 2010, Voter Registration in Africa: A Comparative Analysis
- Githongo John., 2016, Africa Confidential, 57
- Glidden J. A., 2000, Wisconsin Int’l Law Journal, 19, 353
- Golden M., 2014, Patterns of Breakdowns in Biometric Identification Machines in a National Election
- Harvey D., 2003, Macalester International, 13, 3
- Nwangwu C., 2015, Paper presented at the Department of Political Science
- Oppong, N. “Ghana’s 2016 Election Results: The Story of a Presidential Election.” Review of African Political Economy Blog, 2016. http://roape.net/2016/12/21/ghanas-2016-election-results-story-presidential-petition/.
- Orji N., Paper presented at Institute for Development Studies
- Yard M., 2010, International Foundation for Electoral Systems
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Tapscott, R. (2021) · doi:10.1093/oso/9780198856474.001.0001 · Cited by 81
Scraping the demos. Digitalization, web scraping and the democratic project
Ulbricht, L. (2020) · Democratization · doi:10.1080/13510347.2020.1714595 · Cited by 60
Digital Literacy 5.0 to Enhance Multicultural Education
Anurogo, D., Ramba, H. L., Putri, N. D., & Putri, U. M. P. (2023) · Multicultural Islamic Education Review · doi:10.23917/mier.v1i2.3414 · Cited by 103
The Sustainable Development Goals and 'legal identity for all': 'First, do no harm'
Manby, B. (2021) · World Development · doi:10.1016/j.worlddev.2020.105343 · Cited by 52
Breckenridge, K. (2018) · African Studies · doi:10.1080/00020184.2018.1540515 · Cited by 45
ICT and Elections in Nigeria: Rural Dynamics of Biometric Voting Technology Adoption
Iwuoha, V. C. (2018) · Africa Spectrum · doi:10.1177/000203971805300304 · Cited by 42
Nuevos medios en campaña. El caso de las elecciones autonómicas de Madrid 2021 en TikTok
Fernández, V. (2022) · Universitas · doi:10.17163/uni.n36.2022.09 · Cited by 31
Electoral Management of Digital Campaigns and Disinformation in East and Southeast Asia
Tan, N. (2020) · Election Law Journal Rules Politics and Policy · doi:10.1089/elj.2019.0599 · Cited by 29
Debos, M. (2021) · Democratization · doi:10.1080/13510347.2021.1907349 · Cited by 29
Elixir of electoral fraud: The impact of digital technology on the 2015 general elections in Nigeria
Nwangwu, C., Onah, V. C., & Otu, O. A. (2018) · Cogent Social Sciences · doi:10.1080/23311886.2018.1549007 · Cited by 27
Passanti, C., & Pommerolle, M.-E. (2022) · Social Studies of Science · doi:10.1177/03063127221124007 · Cited by 24
Electoral Commissions and Democratization in Africa
Kerr, N. (2024) · doi:10.1093/9780191997839.001.0001 · Cited by 23
Namibia’s parliamentary and presidential elections: the honeymoon is over
Melber, H. (2020) · The Round Table · doi:10.1080/00358533.2020.1717090 · Cited by 22
Fatai, A. (2020) · The Round Table · doi:10.1080/00358533.2020.1788755 · Cited by 21
Biometric voter registration: A new modality of democracy assistance?
Jacobsen, K. L. (2019) · Cooperation and Conflict · doi:10.1177/0010836719850219 · Cited by 21
Election Technology, Disputes, and Political Violence in Kenya
Odote, C., & Kanyinga, K. (2020) · Journal of Asian and African Studies · doi:10.1177/0021909620933991 · Cited by 27
Abboud, E., Ajwang, F., & Lugano, G. K. (2024) · Journal of Eastern African Studies · doi:10.1080/17531055.2024.2377403 · Cited by 16
Adebiyi, O. M., & Raheem, T. K. (2022) · The African Review · doi:10.1163/1821889x-bja10005 · Cited by 14
The Impact of Trust in Government – Young Voters’ Behavioral Intention to Use I-voting in Slovenia
Kozel, E., & Dečman, M. (2022) · NISPAcee Journal of Public Administration and Policy · doi:10.2478/nispa-2022-0004 · Cited by 13
Assessing the Impact of Information and Communication Technologies on Electoral Integrity
Haque, M. Z., & Carroll, D. (2020) · Election Law Journal Rules Politics and Policy · doi:10.1089/elj.2019.0558 · Cited by 13
Iwuoha, V. C., & Doevenspeck, M. (2023) · Territory Politics Governance · doi:10.1080/21622671.2023.2205885 · Cited by 12
Matute, I. D., & González, R. C. (2021) · Democratization · doi:10.1080/13510347.2021.1947248 · Cited by 10
Social media and citizen mobilisation in the biometric voter registration (BVR) process in Zimbabwe
Mwonzora, G. (2020) · Journal of Contemporary African Studies · doi:10.1080/02589001.2020.1746753 · Cited by 10
Foreign interference and Australian electoral security in the digital era
Dowling, M. (2021) · Australian Journal Of International Affairs · doi:10.1080/10357718.2021.1985964 · Cited by 9
Cybersecurity for Elections: A Commonwealth Guide on Best PracticePreprint
Brown, I., Marsden, C. T., Lee, J., & Veale, M. (2020) · doi:10.31228/osf.io/tsdfb · Cited by 9
Miyandazi, V., & Thuo, L. (2025) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781009373272.018 · Cited by 8
Heiberg, S., Krips, K., Willemson, J., & Vinkel, P. (2021) · Lecture notes in computer science · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-93747-8_6 · Cited by 8
Computational Social Choice and challenges оf voting in multi-agent systems
Dodevska, Z. (2019) · Tehnika · doi:10.5937/tehnika1905724d · Cited by 8
Facial Recognition Technology and Voter Turnout
Allie, F. (2022) · The Journal of Politics · doi:10.1086/722039 · Cited by 8
Can domestic observers serve as impartial arbiters?: evidence from Zambia’s 2021 elections
MacDonald, R., & Molony, T. (2023) · Democratization · doi:10.1080/13510347.2023.2173177 · Cited by 8
Re-evaluating international observation of Kenya’s 2017 elections
Molony, T., & MacDonald, R. (2019) · Journal of Eastern African Studies · doi:10.1080/17531055.2019.1657277 · Cited by 8
Dorpenyo, I. K. (2021) · Journal of Technical Writing and Communication · doi:10.1177/00472816211030199 · Cited by 8
Has Kenya democratized? Institutional strengthening and contingency in the 2022 general elections
Cheeseman, N., Kanyinga, K., Lynch, G., & Willis, J. (2024) · Journal of Eastern African Studies · doi:10.1080/17531055.2024.2359154 · Cited by 7
Self-citationChina's Neocolonialism in the Political Economy of A.I. Surveillance
Sharma, I. (2020) · Cornell International Affairs Review · doi:10.37513/ciar.v13i2.554 · Cited by 7
OY HAKKININ İNTERNETTEN OY KULLANIMI İLE DÖNÜŞÜMÜ
BÖREKÇİ, E. B. (2021) · Dokuz Eylül Üniversitesi Hukuk Fakültesi Dergisi · doi:10.33717/deuhfd.899918 · Cited by 6
Naturalization in African states: its past and potential future
Manby, B. (2021) · Citizenship Studies · doi:10.1080/13621025.2021.1926098 · Cited by 6
Nipa, M. N., & Hasan, M. (2023) · SOCIO ECONOMY AND POLICY STUDIES · doi:10.26480/seps.02.2023.91.97 · Cited by 5
Sibe, R. T., & Kaunert, C. (2022) · Journal of African Elections · doi:10.20940/jae/2023/v22i2a4 · Cited by 5
Sustikarini, A. (2020) · International Conference on Agriculture, Social Sciences, Education, Technology and Health (ICASSETH) · doi:10.2991/assehr.k.200402.055 · Cited by 5
Biometric technologies and the prospect of sustainable democracy in Africa
Idowu, H. A. (2021) · Journal of African Elections · doi:10.20940/jae/2021/v20i1a2 · Cited by 5
In cyber we trust? Understanding election legitimacy in the age of electronic election systems
Murray, G. R., & Albert, C. D. (2025) · Journal of Information Technology & Politics · doi:10.1080/19331681.2025.2453913 · Cited by 4
Okwueze, F. O. (2022) · Africa Development · doi:10.57054/ad.v47i2.2206 · Cited by 4
7 - ‘Open the Servers’: The Implications of Electoral Technology for Kenya’s Democratisation Process
Omwoha, J. (2022) · Africa Development · doi:10.57054/ad.v47i2.2203 · Cited by 4
Banégas, R., & Cutolo, A. (2024) · doi:10.1093/oso/9780192870476.001.0001 · Cited by 4
The Oxymoron of the Internet Voting in Illiberal and Hybrid Political Contexts
Romanov, B., & Kabanov, Y. (2020) · Lecture notes in computer science · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-60347-2_12 · Cited by 4
Digital Elections and the Problem of Liquid Trust in the Kenyan Electoral Management Institution
Katete, G. (2021) · International Journal of African Renaissance Studies - Multi- Inter- and Transdisciplinarity · doi:10.1080/18186874.2021.1949363 · Cited by 4
Ibeanu, O. (2022) · Africa Development · doi:10.57054/ad.v47i2.2197 · Cited by 4
Secretariat, C. (2020) · Commonwealth eBooks · doi:10.14217/e56e4289-en · Cited by 4
Three Outcomes of Contentious Elections
Frank, R. W. (2020) · International Studies Review · doi:10.1093/isr/viaa078 · Cited by 4
Examining the Impacts of Technology and Trust on I-Voting Acceptance in the COVID-19 Aftermath
Dečman, M., & Kozel, E. (2023) · International Journal of Electronic Government Research · doi:10.4018/ijegr.327454 · Cited by 3
Body-worn cameras and unintended consequences: A case study of a British police force
L’Hoiry, X. D., Santorso, S., & Harrison, K. (2023) · The Police Journal Theory Practice and Principles · doi:10.1177/0032258x231211177 · Cited by 3
James, T. S., & Garnett, H. A. (2023) · South African Journal of International Affairs · doi:10.1080/10220461.2023.2271496 · Cited by 3
The Challenge to the Rule of Law and Democracy in Contemporary West and Central Africa
Akinkugbe, O. D. (2025) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781009460286.012 · Cited by 3
Ghana’s 2012 General Election: Free, Fair, and Flawed?
Krawczyk, K. A. (2019) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-18541-1_12 · Cited by 2
The feasibility of electronic voting technologies in Africa: Selected case examples
Maphunye, K. J. (2019) · The Journal for Transdisciplinary Research in Southern Africa · doi:10.4102/td.v15i1.621 · Cited by 2
Kerry, H. P. (2021) · Journal of Global Social Sciences · doi:10.31039/jgss.v2i7.27 · Cited by 2
Voter management devices in South Africa’s elections, 2021-2024
Maseko, M. (2024) · Journal of African Elections · doi:10.20940/jae/2024/v23i1a3 · Cited by 2
Burkhardt, F., & Dollbaum, J. M. (2025) · Democratization · doi:10.1080/13510347.2025.2464149 · Cited by 2
Yandra, A., Faridhi, A., Andrizal, A., Ferizko, A., & Puteri, T. I. M. (2023) · KnE Social Sciences · doi:10.18502/kss.v8i5.13012 · Cited by 2
Marjorie, O. P., & James, R. M. (2020) · International Journal of Research Publications · doi:10.47119/ijrp100571720201343 · Cited by 2
Editorial: Special Issue on “Bright ICT: Security, Privacy and Risk Issues”
Ayaburi, E. W. Y., Andoh‐Baidoo, F. K., Dwivedi, Y. K., & Lal, B. (2022) · Information Systems Frontiers · doi:10.1007/s10796-022-10272-7 · Cited by 2
Of Democracy and Elections — in ReversePreprint
van der Straaten, J. (2019) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.3551930 · Cited by 2
Prioritising Response-Ability in Digitisation of Electoral Processes in Africa
Ndaka, A. K., Oando, S. O., & Majiwa, E. (2024) · Studies in national governance and emerging technologies · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-75079-3_6 · Cited by 1
A Postcolonial Card Cartel: How European Companies Sold Biometric Voting in Africa
Debos, M. (2025) · Development and Change · doi:10.1111/dech.70000 · Cited by 2
How to Distinguish Human Error From Election Fraud: Evidence From the 2019 Malawi Election
Ahlbäck, J., & Jablonski, R. (2025) · British Journal of Political Science · doi:10.1017/s0007123425100951 · Cited by 1
Paskarina, C., Mustofa, M. U., Hermawati, R., Nurmanto, E., & Wardana, R. (2025) · Cogent Social Sciences · doi:10.1080/23311886.2025.2586372 · Cited by 1
Increasing Confidence in International Elections
Krawczyk, K. A., & Davis-Roberts, A. (2019) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-14947-5_18 · Cited by 1
Gorewar, H. V., & Tiwari, N. (2020) · World Conference on Smart Trends in Systems, Security and Sustainability (WorldS4) · doi:10.1109/worlds450073.2020.9210315 · Cited by 1
Arbitrary Governance in Africa and Beyond
Tapscott, R. (2021) · doi:10.1093/oso/9780198856474.003.0008 · Cited by 1
Election Technology as a Means of Enhancing Democratic Legitimacy: A Case of Kenya
Simiyu, M. A. (2022) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-74014-6_2 · Cited by 2
Authoritarian Alliances and the Politicking of Data in Africa
Townsend, B., & Gwagwa, A. E. (2023) · Journal of Online Trust and Safety · doi:10.54501/jots.v2i1.111 · Cited by 1
Onyekwelu, C. I. (2023) · The Round Table · doi:10.1080/00358533.2023.2286840 · Cited by 1
Unfreedom to Transformation: Digital Democracy as the New Frontier of Africa’s Political Cosmos
Obi, P. A. (2025) · The African Review · doi:10.1163/1821889x-bja10114 · Cited by 1
Garnett, H. A., & James, T. S. (2025) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780197777497.013.0008 · Cited by 1
Inclusive voting practices: lessons for theory, praxis, and the future research agenda
James, T. S., & Garnett, H. A. (2019) · Policy Studies · doi:10.1080/01442872.2019.1694658 · Cited by 1
Election Observation in Zimbabwe
Marumahoko, S. (2020) · International Journal of Political Activism and Engagement · doi:10.4018/ijpae.2020100103
The Need for Integrated Statistical Management Policy (Progressive Step towards Digital Nepal)Preprint
Thapa, M. (2021) · Preprints.org · doi:10.20944/preprints202101.0505.v1
Varieties of Arbitrary Governance
Tapscott, R. (2021) · doi:10.1093/oso/9780198856474.003.0007
Arbitrary Governance and Modern Authoritarianism
Tapscott, R. (2021) · doi:10.1093/oso/9780198856474.003.0002
Violence, Governance, and Uncertainty
Tapscott, R. (2021) · doi:10.1093/oso/9780198856474.003.0001
Tapscott, R. (2021) · doi:10.1093/oso/9780198856474.003.0006
Tapscott, R. (2021) · doi:10.1093/oso/9780198856474.003.0005
Violence, Sovereignty, and the Uganda Police Force
Tapscott, R. (2021) · doi:10.1093/oso/9780198856474.003.0004
Kasimin, S., Zakiah, Manyamsari, I., Fuady, V., & Desparita, N. (2021) · Russian Journal of Agricultural and Socio-Economic Sciences · doi:10.18551/rjoas.2021-09.10
The Influence of New Technologies on the Election Process in Lithuania
Kuczyńska–Zonik, A. (2021) · Przegląd Prawa Konstytucyjnego · doi:10.15804/ppk.2021.06.14
The rise of covert competitive authoritarianism
Rubidge, L. (2021) · doi:10.35293/ah.v7i.3647
Samuel, O., Martin, I., & Magerand, L. (2022) · International Conference of the Biometrics Special Interest Group (BIOSIG) · doi:10.1109/biosig55365.2022.9896973
Pro dan Kontra Penerapan Sistem Informasi Partai Politik pada Pemilu 2024 di Indonesia
Khairiyah, M., Rahmawati, D. E., & Purwaningsih, T. (2022) · JRP (Jurnal Review Politik) · doi:10.15642/jrp.2022.12.2.244-261
BOSIRE, E. E., & Mutuku, M. (2023) · Strategic Journal of Business & Change Management · doi:10.61426/sjbcm.v10i2.2608
Pro dan Kontra Penerapan Sistem Informasi Partai Politik pada Pemilu 2024 di Indonesia
Khairiyah, M., Rahmawati, D. E., & Purwaningsih, T. (2022) · JRP (Jurnal Review Politik) · doi:10.15642/jrp.2022.12.2.243-260
O enfrentamento das fake news no processo eleitoral a partir das leis de proteção de dados
Santos, C. C. A., & Fernandes, A. C. D. B. (2024) · Revista de Gestão e Secretariado (Management and Administrative Professional Review) · doi:10.7769/gesec.v15i1.3321
Kerr, N. (2024) · doi:10.1093/9780191997839.002.0005
Kerr, N. (2024) · doi:10.1093/9780191997839.002.0006
Metadata
- Authors
- Cheeseman, N., Lynch, G., & Willis, J.
- Affiliations
- University of Birmingham (GB)
- University of Warwick (GB)
- Durham University (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Cheeseman, Nic
- Venue
- Democratization
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2018-06-08
- Volume
- 25
- Issue
- 8
- Pages
- 1397-1418
- ISSN
- 1351-0347 (ISSN-L)
- 1743-890X
- OpenAlex
- W2799844154
- Cited by
- 140
- References
- 40
- Citations by year
- 2026: 6 · 2025: 17 · 2024: 31 · 2023: 12 · 2022: 16 · 2021: 30 · 2020: 17 · 2019: 8 · 2018: 3
- FWCI
- 63.10
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Democratization (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Durham Research Online (Durham University) (acceptedVersion, other-oa)
- Durham Research Online (Durham University) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Warwick Research Archive Portal (University of Warwick) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Economic and Social Research Council (ES/L002108/1, ES/L002345/1)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › Electoral Systems and Political Participation
- Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › E-Government and Public Services
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Artificial Intelligence › Internet Traffic Analysis and Secure E-voting
- Keywords
- electoral technology, digitalization of elections, electoral integrity, election rigging, corruption, leapfrogging, technology fetishism, checks and balances, electoral process, opportunity cost
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review