May e-vote gets mixed results

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The e-voting election pilots held during the 3 May polls have been condemned in a report by the Open Rights Group (ORG).

The monitoring body had 25 accredited election observers monitoring e-voting and e-counting trials in England and Scotland. According to the ORG report, the Ministry of Justice trials were not secure and poorly tested, resulting in delayed and abandoned counts.

"ORG previously expressed concerns over the preparations for the May elections, but even we were surprised by the scale of the problems our team observed on polling day," said Jason Kitcat, ORG's e-voting coordinator. "Despite our best efforts, we have been unable to verify the accuracy of the elections we monitored."

The ORG said the government lacks the necessary technical expertise at both central and local levels to hold suppliers to account.

But one supplier, Election Systems and Software, said its own pilots in South Bucks and Rushmoor were successful, with high voter uptake of the new systems and positive feedback.

In South Bucks, over 16 per cent of voters used the internet and telephone to make their picks. In Rushmoor, 18 per cent of the overall vote came via the web.

"Our voters found the option of internet voting very convenient," said Kully Tumber, Democratic Services Officer (Elections) for South Bucks. "The simplicity of the internet voting system gave the electorate a good alternative way to cast their votes, and many embraced it with enthusiasm."

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