WebRoots Democracy explained

Type:Think tank
WebRoots Democracy
Location:London, United Kingdom
Website:webrootsdemocracy.org
Focus:digital democracy, democratic reform, technology

WebRoots Democracy was a London-based think tank focused on progressive and inclusive technology policy. It was founded in May 2014 and closed in November 2020.[1]

Research and publications

WebRoots Democracy has five main areas of focus: online voting; e-petitions; voter advice applications; social media regulation; and monitoring the recommendations of the Speaker's Commission on Digital Democracy. It has an Advisory Council consisting of experts from across the technology industry, academia, civil society, and politics which provides ideas and guidance over the research it undertakes.[2]

Published in March 2015, Viral Voting: Future-proofing UK elections with an #onlinevoting option examined the benefits of online voting, the challenges faced for its implementation, and its estimated impact on voter turnout and elections.[3] The report estimated that online voting could boost voter turnout by up to 9 million, reduce the cost-per-vote by a third, and enable voters with vision impairments to cast a secret ballot.[4] [5] [6] [7] It contains forewords by the MPs Graham Allen and Chloe Smith, as well as the General Secretary of the Trades Union Congress, Frances O'Grady.

Viral Voting was cited in a House of Commons debate on the EU Referendum Bill by Labour MP, John McDonnell.[8] It is also cited in a Salford University research paper on trade union strike ballots.[9]

In January 2016, Secure Voting: A guide to secure #onlinevoting in elections was published. This report focused on the key security challenges for the implementation of online voting and methods to overcome them.[10] The report called for online voting to be introduced by the 2020 UK General Election.[11] It contained forewords from MPs across the political spectrum: Chloe Smith, Graham Allen, Tom Brake, and Hannah Bardell. In addition, it contains a foreword by the Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow.

Secure Voting was cited widely during the parliamentary debates on the 2016 Trade Union Bill. It was also cited in a debate in the State Assembly of Jersey and in a feasibility study on internet voting by the Electoral Commission of Moldova.[12] [13]

To coincide with the two year anniversary of the Speaker's Commission on Digital Democracy, in January 2017, Democracy 2.0: Hitting refresh on the Digital Democracy Commission was published.[14] It sets out a number of recommendations including the creation of a Government 'Digital Democracy Czar' and the introduction of mandatory political education in schools to help tackle challenges such as 'fake news'.[15] It contains forewords by Emma Mulqueeny OBE and Cat Smith MP.

Opinion polls

WebRoots Democracy has commissioned three YouGov polls related to online voting. The first two found majority support for online voting to be implemented as an option in the 2016 London mayoral election and the 2016 EU referendum.[16] [17] [18] [19] The two leading candidates for London Mayor, Sadiq Khan and Zac Goldsmith, subsequently backed the campaign for online voting.[20] Sadiq Khan had previously written about his support for online voting in a blogpost on the WebRoots Democracy website saying it was "time to drag our democracy into the 21st century."[21]

The third poll was related to the 2016 EU referendum. This poll found that there would have been an extra 1.2 million young voters had there been an option to vote online in the referendum.[22]

Advisory Council

The think tank has a 20 member Advisory Council consisting of experts from across the tech industry and civil society.[23] Members include the television broadcasters Rick Edwards and Amy Lamé, technologists Emma Mulqueeny and Helen Milner, and the academics Dr Peter Kerr and Professor Mark Ryan.

Political Ambassadors

WebRoots Democracy has a group of cross-party 'Political Ambassadors' to champion the think-tank's digital democracy cause.[24] They are:

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 2014-04-21 . About . 2022-12-07 . WebRoots Democracy . en.
  2. News: Advisory Council. 2016-10-11. WebRoots Democracy. en-US. 2016-12-29.
  3. News: Viral Voting. 2014-05-13. WebRoots Democracy. en-US. 2016-12-29.
  4. News: Digital democracy: will 2015 be the last paper-based general election?. Telegraph.co.uk. 2016-12-29.
  5. Web site: Online voting could boost flagging turnout by 9 million Shout Out UK. 2015-03-17. Shout Out UK Political Youth News Network. 2016-12-29.
  6. News: Why electronic voting isn't secure – but may be safe enough. Kobie. Nicole. 2015-03-30. The Guardian. en-GB. 0261-3077. 2016-12-29.
  7. News: Why can't we vote online?. Charlton. Alistair. 2015-04-17. International Business Times UK. 2016-12-29.
  8. Web site: House of Commons Hansard Debates for 18 Jun 2015 (pt 0004). Westminster. Department of the Official Report (Hansard), House of Commons. www.publications.parliament.uk. 2016-12-29.
  9. Darlington. Ralph. 2015. The Conservative Government's proposed strike ballot thresholds: The challenge to the trade unions. Salford Business School.
  10. News: Secure Voting. 2016-01-26. WebRoots Democracy. en-US. 2016-12-29.
  11. News: Could a Brexit have been avoided if the UK had a smarter, digital voting system?. O'Donoghue. Andrew. 2016-06-28. International Business Times UK. 2016-12-29.
  12. Web site: Public elections: Electronic voting. States of Jersey. 2016-12-29.
  13. Web site: Feasibility study on Internet voting for the Central Electoral Commission of the Republic of Moldova. UNDP in Moldova. 2016-12-29.
  14. News: Democracy 2.0. 2017-01-26. WebRoots Democracy. en-US. 2017-01-30.
  15. News: Cat Smith: Tories must crack down on trolling to help protect democracy LabourList. 2017-01-26. LabourList Labour's biggest independent grassroots e-network. en-US. 2017-01-30.
  16. Web site: WebRoots Democracy/YouGov poll shows majority want online voting implemented in the 2016 London Mayoral Election. webrootsdemocracy. 2015-07-18. WebRoots Democracy. 2016-12-29.
  17. Web site: WebRoots Democracy/YouGov poll shows majority want online voting implemented in the EU referendum. webrootsdemocracy. 2015-07-21. WebRoots Democracy. 2016-12-29.
  18. Web site: Online voting discussion on BBC London 94.9. audioBoom. 2016-12-29.
  19. News: Should online voting be introduced ahead of the mayoral election?. 2015-07-23. London Live. en-GB. 2016-12-29.
  20. News: Three in five Londoners want to be able to vote online. 2015-07-23. Evening Standard. en-GB. 2016-12-29.
  21. Web site: Online Voting: Time to drag our democracy into the 21st century. webrootsdemocracy. 2014-10-31. WebRoots Democracy. 2016-12-29.
  22. News: Brexit: Over 1 million extra young voters if we reform voting system. The Telegraph. 2016-12-29.
  23. News: Advisory Council. 2016-10-11. WebRoots Democracy. en-US. 2017-01-30.
  24. News: Political Ambassadors. 2017-01-25. WebRoots Democracy. en-US. 2017-01-30.