This article constructs explanatory theory on trust in e-voting, a term that refers to the use of stand-alone IT artefacts in voting stations. We study e-voting as a techno-organisational arrangement embedded in the process of elections and the broader socio-economic context of a country. Following a critical realist approach, we apply retroduction and retrodiction principles to build theory by complementing existing studies of e-voting with insights from an in-depth case study of elections in India. First, we seek evidence of trust in e-voting in the responses of the public to the announcement of election results. Then we derive the following four mechanisms of trust creation or loss: the association of e-voting with the production of positive democratic effects; the making of e-voting part of the mission and identity of electoral authorities; the cultivation of a positive public attitude to IT with policies for IT-driven socio-economic development; and, in countries with turbulent political cultures, a clear distinction between the experience of voting as orderly and experiences of malpractice in other election tasks. We suggest that these mechanisms explain the different experience with e-voting of different countries. Attention to them helps in assessing the potential of electoral technologies in countries that are currently adopting them, especially fragile democracies embarking upon e-voting.

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在选举舞弊经历中信任电子投票：印度选举的案例

本文构建了关于电子投票信任的解释性理论，该术语指的是在投票站中使用独立的 IT 人工制品。我们将电子投票作为一种嵌入在选举过程和一个国家更广泛的社会经济背景中的技术组织安排进行研究。遵循批判现实主义的方法，我们通过对印度选举的深入案例研究的见解来补充现有的电子投票研究，从而应用追溯和追溯原则来构建理论。首先，我们在公众对选举结果公布的反应中寻找对电子投票的信任的证据。然后我们推导出以下四种信任创建或丢失的机制：电子投票与产生积极民主效应的关联；使电子投票成为选举当局使命和身份的一部分；通过信息技术驱动的社会经济发展政策培养公众对信息技术的积极态度；并且，在政治文化动荡的国家，有秩序的投票经历与其他选举任务中的舞弊经历之间存在明显区别。我们建议这些机制解释了不同国家在电子投票方面的不同经验。关注它们有助于评估目前正在采用它们的国家的选举技术的潜力，尤其是开始电子投票的脆弱民主国家。我们建议这些机制解释了不同国家在电子投票方面的不同经验。关注它们有助于评估目前正在采用它们的国家的选举技术的潜力，尤其是开始电子投票的脆弱民主国家。我们建议这些机制解释了不同国家在电子投票方面的不同经验。关注它们有助于评估目前正在采用它们的国家的选举技术的潜力，尤其是开始电子投票的脆弱民主国家。