By Andy McCue, 17 October 2006 17:00
NEWS
The government is to trial electronic and internet voting at the local authority elections in England next May.
The Department for Constitutional Affairs is looking for local authorities to run pilots testing different voting methods at the elections, including internet and telephone voting, e-voting kiosks and electronic counting of votes.
Some technologies, such as electronic counting, were trialled in 15 pilot schemes in 21 councils at this year's local elections but e-voting was ruled out because of security concerns.
These included electronic vote-counting at Epping Forest District Council and the London Boroughs of Lewisham and Newham, as well as electronic signature-checking technology that uses optical character recognition.
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The DCA said the new pilots will build on the experience of those at this year's local elections and make elections more accessible by making it easier to vote.
Bridget Prentice, democracy minister at the DCA, said in a statement: "More and more people, and particularly young people, are using the internet in our daily lives. We need to respond to this to enable people to participate in elections and the democratic process."
The DCA will consult with the Electoral Commission to decide which pilot schemes will be chosen.
Comments
There are 7 comments. Join the discussion
1. Ian Savell
Voting for a government is a serious decision that should not be reduced to the status of a website 2 second poll.
Far from making it easier to vote, every voter should first have to demonstrate a clear understanding of what they are voting for.
Otherwise why not just put the government in the Big Brother house and decide policy on the basis of a text poll?
2. Dr John Dimmock
This is a good move – when it proves successful as I am sure it will then we must progress to voting on central government issues.
Eventually we will be able to get rid of members of parliament and to make every day political decisions ourselves – that way we all become responsible for our own actions. The technology is here and in my view with public libraries being connected to the Internet the whole thing becomes far more accessible than it is now
3. Peter Shearman
Both the previous two comments are quite a way out of line with the nature of democracy generally, and in this country specifically.
We have a representative democracy to enable our representatives to make decisions for us. This is in the knowledge that issues in politics are so complex that we as members of the public do not have the time to review the evidence and arguments on every piece of legislation.
Asking people to prove they have a knowledge of politics before voting was an argument used to disenfranchise black communities in the early twentieth century in the USA, when there were high levels of illiteracy and poor standards of education.
No-one has the right to decide what level of knowledge is enough to allow you to vote. Voting is a right conferred on every individual - not just those fortunate enough to have had higher education.
4. Richard
Money's in the budget so it has to be spent!
Apparently, the money (our money!) has already been allocated to e-Voting: Apparently it has to be spent on this, even though we already know that e-Voting is a disaster area.
So much for "Prudence," so much for good governance!
5. Richard
Why not a new approach?
e-Voting has been disaster but polls like "Pop Idol" are very popular; many people now choose books & holidays etc. based on "user feedback" from other customers.
Assuming that Gordon Brown will allow it, why not use these funds to encourage wider democracy?
Why not set up internet sites where ordinary people can "post" & read feedback about their public services: Local hospitals, local schools, GPs, dentists, etc. etc.
This would greatly help people to use the "choice" promised by government.
I'd place much more faith in user feedback than in glossy brochures or dodgy "official star ratings."
6. Karen Challinor
Dr John Dimmock
what a wonderful vision, you get my vote sir
sadly it's never going to happen
I can envisage no scenario where a politician will voluntarily vote for a bill that reduces their power and influence.
we might be able to do it if we form our own party specifically with the aim of bringing this utopia about though.
7. anonymous
A 'Tecnical Director' that cannot spell the word 'Technical' correctly, who appears naive enough to trust politicians with something that can so easily be tampered with. The results fiddled, etc. Have we not learned that the present government are frantically searching for ways to prolong their infamous regime, by hook or by crook.
'Crook' it would seem is the operative word.