E-voting ‘should be suspended’
Trials for electronic voting have been beset with problems and doubts are being cast over their security.
The Electoral Commission recommends web and phone voting pilots are suspended after questions arose over their security.
Alternative forms of voting were piloted in 13 areas during May’s local elections, but the commission found poor public confidence in their security and a slew of technical problems.
Although much was learnt from these pilots, the commission concluded there is “little merit” in holding any more.
The commission looked at electronic voting, voting ahead of polling day, electronic counting and signing for ballot papers.
It found security “needed to be strengthened” and recommended individual voter registration as one improvement.
The commission agreed the government needed to modernise the electoral process but said this must include measures to improve security.
Local elections in May saw technical problems disrupt counts in Breckland, Stratford-upon-Avod and Warwick, and electoral officials had to resort to manual counting.
Commission chief executive Peter Wardle said: “We have learnt a good deal from pilots over the past few years.
“But we do not see any merit in continuing with small-scale, piecemeal piloting where similar innovations are explored each year without sufficient planning and implementation time, and in the absence of any clear direction, or likelihood of new insights.”
Election modernisation minister Michael Wills said the Ministry of Justice would examine the commission’s report.
He insisted the public had supported “additional voting channels”.
Mr Wills said: “The testing of innovations in elections is an important part of developing public services that are efficient, effective, empowering and responsive to needs and demands of citizens.
“We are grateful to the local authorities who applied and were selected to carry out election pilots schemes, which were designed to test new innovations. Their hard work has been invaluable.”
Shadow justice secretary Nick Herbert held up the report as a “damning indictment” of the government’s “interference” with the electoral process.
“The ballot was exposed to an unacceptable security risk, and part of the blame lies with inadequate planning and the Ministry of Justice’s failure to check suppliers,” he said.
“A government that was serious about rebuilding trust in politics would begin by ensuring the integrity of the voting system.”
