The effects of VAAs in Danish elections 2007-22

The Internet entered elections around the year 2000. From the early start there have been speculations about the possible effects of the Internet on elections. A certain body of research has focused on the effects of voting advice applications (VAAs). Hoff (2010) was among the first to discuss such effects but his findings remain inconclusive. Wurthmann et al. (2021), studying the German federal election of 2017 find that the use of VAAs significantly explains the electoral success of the right-wing party AfD. However, research on VAAs and their impact is still an emerging field and research designs and further studies need to be developed (Tromborg & Albertsen, 2023). Especially long term effects need to be explored. In this paper, I provide a longitudinal study of VAAs in election campaigns, spanning across 15 years and covering five Danish national elections. Denmark is used as a critical case study as the country has a high Internet penetration, widespread use of digital media in public administration and citizen services, and a traditional high willingness to employ digital media in daily life (Flensburg & Lai, 2021). Methods: The study is based on five consecutive survey questionnaires among voters immediately after Danish elections of 2007, 2011, 2015, 2019, and 2022. N is 970, 1973, 3589, 1903 and 151, respectively. Participants were recruited through online panels and stratified sampling was employed to attract sufficient participants in all demographic categories. The surveys have addressed several aspects of Internet use and effects, compared across demographic categories, but an independent, systematic analysis of the data on VAAs has not been performed until now. The uniqueness of this study is that is based on five repetitive survey questionnaires among Danish citizens across a time span of 15 years. Preliminary findings: The study finds significant and increasing effects of using VAAs. Although use of VAAs has been high from the beginning and increased only slightly across the time span, the effects seem to increase over the years. In 2022, more than one in five state that VAAs have changed their choice of party or candidate during the election campaigns. Effects are also tested by predictors of demographics, political interest and efficacy, and it is found that VAAs have the largest effects on the younger and people with least political interest and sense of efficacy. The findings demonstrate the importance of VAAs and the responsibility in designing them adequately.