About two-thirds of Canadians support online voting in the next federal election, according to a new poll released Friday.
About 49 percent of respondents said they were very likely and 15 percent said they were somewhat likely to use online voting, suggested the EKOS poll commissioned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). In the poll, respondents were asked if there is a safe way of voting on the internet in Canada and how likely is it that they would use it.
But 8.5 percent said they were not very likely to vote online, and 18 percent said they were not likely at all.
Those more likely to vote online were male, under 44 years old, and university-educated, the poll indicated.
Many people also believe online voting was the most efficient way for improving voter turnout, with 33 percent of those polled favoring that option. Younger respondents were more likely than those over 65 to choose online voting.
Other options for improving voter turnout include mandatory voting and proportional representation, under which parliament members would be elected based on the percentage of the popular vote parties receive.
Canada's electoral system is the first-past-the-post system. The candidate with the most votes wins, and an absolute majority is not needed. Voter turnout in Canada has been declining gradually over the years.
During the October 2008 election, the rate was 58 percent.