State versus Technology: What drives trust in and usage of internet voting, institutional or technological trust?

This study examines the combined influence of technological and institutional trust on citizens’ perceptions of and engagement with Internet voting, addressing gaps in the literature on digital governance and trust. While prior research often treats these trust dimensions separately, this article explores their interplay within the context of Estonia, which has utilized Internet voting for two decades. By constructing composite indices for technological and institutional trust through factor analysis, the study offers a novel methodological approach to operationalizing trust in digital governance (within the article, digital governance and e-governance are used interchangeably) research in general and Internet voting in particular, based on post-electoral survey data. Applying linear and logistic regression analyses, the study explicitly examines how these trust dimensions affect citizens’ trust in Internet voting systems and their actual use of such technology. The findings reveal that institutional trust is significantly more influential than technological trust, consistently emerging as the primary driver for both trusting Internet voting and engaging in its usage. Technological trust, in contrast, demonstrates only marginal predictive strength, highlighting the greater importance citizens place on institutional legitimacy, transparency, and accountability. These results emphasize the compensatory nature of institutional trust, suggesting that robust institutional frameworks allow citizens to confidently engage with complex technological systems despite limited technical understanding. Consequently, this research enhances theoretical insights into trust dynamics within digital governance, particularly in contexts where political sensitivity and institutional credibility significantly impact technology adoption. • Institutional trust drives the use of internet voting more than technological trust does. • Technological trust alone has a weak association with actual online voting usage. • Institutional trust is key in explaining confidence in Estonia’s online voting system. • Higher digital literacy significantly boosts online voting usage. • Gender has a negative effect on trust, while age and education appear to have no impact.