The democratic divide

Abstract

Remote Internet voting has been proposed as a solution to low voter turnout. It is tempting to see the use of Internet technology by a large segment of the population as a quick fix for making the voting process more accessible to a larger number of people. This argument, however, demonstrates a disconnect with the reality of Internet use; that is, that it happens in a place. Internet use is not an ethereal, boundary–less activity, it is situated in a spatial/geographic context. Reviewing this geographic context using Geographic Information System technology can reveal the serious limitations of a "point and click" solution to improving political participation.