  Literature has shown that countries such as Brazil and India have
successfully implemented electronic voting systems and other countries are at
various piloting stages to address many challenges associated with manual paper
based system such ascosts of physical ballot paper and other overheads,
electoral delays, distribution of electoral materials, and general lack of
confidence in the electoral process. It is in this context that this study
explores how South African can leverage the opportunities that e-voting
presents. Manual voting is often tedious, non-secure, and time-consuming, which
leads us to think about using electronic facilities to make the process more
efficient. This study proposes that the adoption of electronic voting
technologies could perhaps mitigate some of these issues and challengesin the
process improving the electoral process. The study used an on-line
questionnaire which was administered to a broader group of voters and an
in-depth semi-structured interview with the Independent Electoral Commission
officials. The analysis is based on thematic analysis and diffusion of
innovations theory is adopted as a theoretical lens of analysis. The findings
reveal that relative advantage, compatibility and complexity would determine
the intentions of South African voters and the Electoral Management Bodies
(IEC) to adopt e-voting technologies. Moreover, the findings also reveal
several other factorsthat could influence the adoption process. The study is
limited to only voters in Cape Town and these voters were expected to have some
access to the internet. The sample size limits the generalizability of the
findings of this study.
