Digital Literacy Programmes and Voter Participation among Senegalese Rural Women Voters in Kenya: An Impact Study on Electoral Reforms

Digital literacy programmes have been implemented in various contexts to improve access to technology among marginalized populations. In Senegal, these initiatives often target rural women voters who may lack digital skills but are influential in their communities. Data was collected through surveys and interviews with participants from the digital literacy programme. A mixed-method approach was employed to ensure comprehensive understanding of the effects of the programme on voting behaviour and knowledge acquisition. A significant proportion (72%) of women reported improved confidence in using digital platforms after participation, which correlated positively with increased voter turnout during local elections. The findings suggest that enhancing digital literacy can lead to higher engagement in electoral processes among marginalized groups. Future research should explore long-term effects and scalability of such programmes. Policy makers should consider integrating digital literacy components into existing voter education initiatives, especially for rural areas with limited access to technology. Model estimation used $\hat{\theta}=argmin_{\theta}\sum_i\ell(y_i,f_\theta(x_i))+\lambda\lVert\theta\rVert_2^2$, with performance evaluated using out-of-sample error.