Over a quarter of adults have missed voting when they would have been ready to do so digitally, according to a newly published survey.
Kantar TNS Research Express questioned 2,548 people aged over 16 on behalf of software company Liferay, and found that 27% said they had missed voting in an election or referendum but would have done so digitally.
Applied to turnout from the 2017 general election this would represent 8.6 million votes, and more than 9 million for the 2016 Brexit referendum.
In addition, the survey showed that more than half (58%) have either used or would use a digital service instead of visiting their GP or using an NHS service.
The statistics are more pronounced for younger people, with 38% of under-35s not having voted due to a lack of digital options, and 71% saying they have or would use a paid alternative to NHS services.
Rising expectations
On a broader front, 54% said their expectations of digital experiences had risen over the past two years, but only 12% said they had been met. 73% reported major frustrations with digital experiences.
Mike MacAuley, Liferay’s general manager for the UK and Ireland, said: “We can already see how a failure to adapt to this is driving consumer behaviour in the private sector, but I think this increasingly also extends to national institutions such as the NHS, and even engagement with democratic processes.
“Organisations have limited time to address these issues: from rising service expectations, to not voting because of a lack of digital options, to choosing digital services such as, for example, Push Doctor over NHS provision.”
Image by RachelH, CC BY 2.0 through flickr
