Britons go to the polls like never before
New voting methods will be deployed today in a bid to boost voter participation in local government and council elections up and down the country.
For the first time, and in a bold experiment to use new technologies to rekindle flagging interest in parliamentary democracy, voters will be able to vote via sms text messaging from their mobile phones.
In the UK, more than 38 million people are eligible to vote in elections for the Scottish Parliament, the Welsh Assembly and council seats across England and Scotland.
On top of this, elections are being held in 36 English metropolitan districts, 40 English unitary authorities, 232 English shire districts and 32 Scottish unitary authorities.
Around 6.5m voters in 59 ‘experimental’ local authorities have the opportunity to cast their ballot electronically or by postal vote. Voters have an array of options to choose from – sms text messaging, touch-tone telephone, via the internet, interactive digital television.
Voting will take place across England between 8am and 9pm, and in Scotland and Wales between 7am and 10pm.
The Electoral Commission, the body responsible for improving participation in the democratic process, said new technologies, which provide convenience for busy people or those unable to get to the polling booth during the week, may also encourage disenfranchised youth to vote for the first time.
Stephen Judson, policy manager at the Electoral Commission, said: ‘We understand that figures so far indicate that in many of the pilot areas turnout is looking really healthy.
‘We think that it merely demonstrates that by making voting more convenient people are taking part in the voting process.’
Disability groups are assessing whether new voting patterns will assist in improving the participation of disabled people.
