Active Citizenship and Representation in Europe: Towards Transnational Democracy?

Facts and views around the European Year of Citizens 2013

Use of Social Media in Presidential Campaigns: Do Social Media Have an Effect on the Political Behavior of Voters Aged 18-24?

Today, the idea of social media is radically different from the media of a decade ago. While a decade ago the Internet was considered new media, our society now turns to Facebook, Twitter, and blogs as sources of information. In the United States during election cycles, the use of social media by presidential candidates has become a way for many voters to find out about candidates. As a result, presidential candidates have had to adapt their campaign strategies to work with these media in a way that will effectively target these audiences. This study examines whether campaigns that are more “social media savvy” will ultimately garner more votes, specifically from those aged 18-24. By analyzing social media tactics of the 2004 and 2008 presidential elections and surveying voters in this age range, I ultimately found that there was no relationship between social media use and young voter participation or likelihood of voting for Democratic candidates. However, there was a relationship between social media usage and likelihood of voting for Republican candidates: when social media was used, participants were less likely to vote for the Republican candidate than when no social media use was present

Bringing Transnational Participatory Democracy to Life: Tips for Would-be Organisers of a European Citizens' Initiative

The first section of the Guide discusses the extent of the power that the ECI truly gives to citizens and offers a brief overview of the ECI process. The second section goes through the process step by step and includes some experiences of current ECIs organisers. The third section provides some lessons from pre-ECI Regulation initiatives. The fourth section summarizes the future of the ECI. The Guide ends with a section providing ECI resources

Combatting electoral traces: the Dutch tempest discussion and beyond

In the Dutch e-voting debate, the crucial issue leading to the abandonment of all electronic voting machines was compromising radiation, or tempest. Other countries, however, do not seem to be bothered by this risk. In this paper, we use actor-network theory to analyse the socio-technical origins of the Dutch tempest issue in e-voting, and its consequences for e-voting beyond the Netherlands. We introduce the term electoral traces to denote any physical, digital or social evidence of a voter's choices in an election. From this perspective, we provide guidelines for risk analysis as well as an overview of countermeasures

Enhancing Election Monitoring and Observation using E-Messaging Tools

Election monitoring and observation are an integral part of an electoral process. They help to enhance the transparency and credibility of elections as well as the acceptance of results. Challenges faced by election monitoring and observation organizations include: the need for coordination and cooperation among observer groups; the need for follow-up on recommendations made after an election; the need to develop technologies appropriate for assessing e-voting technologies; and the need to develop commonly shared criteria for assessing democratic elections. In addition, challenges peculiar to Nigeria include: difficult terrain, poor Internet coverage, poor electricity and political instability bringing about insecurity. In this paper, we present contemporary e-messaging tools and initiatives that will help to address these challenges and thereby enhance the efficiency of election monitoring and observation missions

Voter Information in the Digital Age: Grading State Election Websites

Voter Information in the Digital Age: Grading State Election Websites examines the extent to which state election websites provide voters with sufficient information to make informed choices. The report assesses the quantity and quality of candidate and ballot measure information offered by the 50 state and District of Columbia election websites and ranks them from one to 51. It recommends a number of best practices currently used by some state or local jurisdictions, as well as innovations on other websites that are used rarely or not at all on state election websites. The authors recommend that states follow new technologies and trends in information delivery and design, and offer voters a full range of candidate and ballot information in innovative formats and media