Indigenous Experiences with Online Vo6ng
ChelseaGabel,McMasterUniversity
CRC,IndigenousWell-being,Community-engagementandInnova=onDirector,McMasterIndigenousResearchIns=tute
NicoleGoodman,BrockUniversityDirector,Centrefore-Democracy
EVOTE-IDAnnualMee=ng,Bregenz,Austria,October2-5,2018
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Current Situa6on • Indigenous communities
• 80+ First Nations and other Indigenous communities
• Municipal level • 200+ binding municipal elections (Ontario & Nova Scotia)
• 194/414 in 2018; a majority going paperless
• Other levels • Provincial agencies • National debate
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Historical Context
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Research Questions & Background
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Gaps in Knowledge and Literature
• Indigenous communities face a number of interrelated challenges • i.e. local governance and community engagement: colonization, the residential school system, the Indian Act.
• Lack of insight into the strategies and innovations Indigenous communities are taking to increase governance capacity.
• Small but growing literature that explores ICT use in Indigenous communities.
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Research Ques6ons
1. Who votes online and why?
2. What impacts does online voting have on participation in Indigenous elections and votes?
3. What good practices can be taken away from Indigenous experiences with online voting?
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Governance Structures of First Na6ons Elec6ons in Canada
Legislative framework Number of nations
Indian Act election system
174
First Nations Elections Act
51
Custom election codes 353
Self-government agreements
40
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PROVINCE COMMUNITY YEAR TYPE OF VOTE TOPIC
ON Whitefish River First Nation 2015 Referendum MRP Law
ON Nipissing First Nation 2014 Referendum Constitution
ON Shawanaga First Nation 2015 Agreement Vote Land Code
ON Mississauga First Nation 2014 & 2015 Election/Referendum FNEA/Constitution
ON Batchewana First Nation 2015 Referendum MRP Law
BC Talthan First Nation 2011, 2014, 2015 Agreement Vote (x2)/Election/Referendum
Transmission Line IBA/Council Election/ Management Agreement
BC Huu-ay-aht First Nation 2012 General Assembly General Assembly
BC Squamish First Nation 2013 Referendum Membership Agreement
BC Ucluelet First Nation 2015 Election Election
BC Shxwowhamel First Nation 2015 Ratification Vote Mutual Benefits Agreement
BC Uchucklesaht First Nation 2015 Election Election
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Research Approach & Methods
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Our Approach
Community-Based Participatory Research Approach: • Collaboration
• Community Participation
• Building Capacity
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Research Methods
• Community-based Participatory Research (CBPR) methodology that included:
• Surveys via AskingCanadians platform
• Wasauksing First Nation • Paper voters, N=66 (66%) • Online voters, N=15 (20%)
• Whitefish River First Nation • Paper voters, N=123 (81%)
• Tsuut’ina Nation • Online voters N=137 (90%)
• 28 semi-structured interviews • One focus group in Tsuut’ina Nation
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Findings
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Sa6sfac6on and willingness to use online vo6ng
• Broad support for online voting
• High satisfaction with online voting • Tsuut’ina Nation 91 percent satisfied • Wasauksing First Nation 100 percent satisfied
• Paper voters also supportive • Concerns
• Lack of access to computers/ internet • Security is secondary • Digital access key priority
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• Older, educated, higher income and more likely to live off-reserve
Who votes online?
Socio-demographiccharacteris1c
Internetvoter Paperballotvoter
Age 48years 44years
Educa=on Completedtechnical,communitycollege
Sometechnical,communitycollege
Annualhouseholdincome $60,000-$79,000 $40,000-$49,000
Maritalstatus Married Married
Onoroffreserve Offreserve Onreserve
Vo=nghistory Frequent Veryfrequent
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Who votes online and why?
• Access and convenience top reasons for use
• Remote voting clearly desired • 60 percent in Wasauksing and 79 percent in Metlakatla • Large off-reserve populations
• Wasauksing 66 percent • Metlakatla 89 percent of membership
• Necessary for engaging off-reserve populations • Wasauksing Land Code – 30 percent online • Metlakatla Land Code – 48 percent online
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Poten6al for engagement
• Some respondents wouldn’t have voted otherwise • Tsuut’ina Nation 9 percent ‘definitely’ or ‘probably’ would not have • Wasauksing First Nation 13 percent
• Voting histories less consistent than paper voters
• Paper voters prefer to vote online if they could not attend a poll in person
• Tsuut’ina Nation 70 percent would vote by internet • Wasauksing First Nation 49 percent
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Good prac6ces: Four categories
1. Knowledge of the community, engagement, outreach and communication
• Understanding the community, community consultation, digital skill building 2. Building tools and strategy
• Voters’ lists, email databases, iterative approach 3. Clear processes and resources
• Clear responsibilities, vendor role, boosting technical knowledge 4. A focus on technology
• Security, access
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Conclusions and Implica6ons
• Online voting is an important tool to engage off reserve citizens and pass legislation
• Citizens are supportive of the policy change • A tool of convenience • Not for attracting young people • Could increase participation of some infrequent voters • Digital access and literacy the biggest challenge to implementation and
uptake • Good practices crucial to ensuring success of deployment
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Questions?