Trust in online voting under different regime settings: evidence from public opinion on online voting in national elections in Estonia and Russia

Abstract

This study examines attitudes toward online voting in Russia and Estonia, the only countries with online nationwide elections. While both countries share a common post-Soviet legacy, their divergent political regimes provide a distinctive framework for comparative analysis. Survey data from Russia (2021) and Estonia (2023) reveal that duty-based motivations to vote are more prevalent in authoritarian Russia with a vivid Soviet legacy, while instrumental motivations (e.g. convenience, fairness) have a greater contribution to attitude formation in democratic Estonia. Perceived advantages affect trust in online voting; however, the “winner effect” reduces trust in both contexts, highlighting differences in technology adoption in electoral processes. Our results challenge the findings regarding online voting adoption in terms of individual characteristics, such as age, technological competences, and education, displaying the variability of their effects across regime settings.