Voting advice applications promote political engagement and an informed electorate

Voting advice applications, like Vote Match Europe, have proliferated in the last decade, reaching more and more voters and becoming institutionalised in several European countries. But do they work in promoting informed debate, political engagement and voter turnout? According to a survey conducted after over 1 million people used Vote Match in 2010, the answer is a resounding yes: 75 per cent were more aware of the policy differences between the parties, 12 per cent changed their minds as to who to vote for, and 5 per cent said that they voted as a direct consequence of using the app. By lowering the barrier for access to political information, both about the policy differences between parties and the proximity of parties to the user’s own views, voting advice applications can be a game changer, writes Pete Mills.