In next month's local elections, several councils will be testing
how electronic voting works in practice. James Rogers looks at some
of the complexities of opting out of the traditional polling
booth.
E -voting has no shortage of enthusiasts. A Mori poll carried out
for the London Borough of Brent recently found that as many as 70%
of local residents are interested in online forums and tele-voting
services.
This sentiment was backed by research from portal provider Touch,
which suggested that 75% of voters would be more likely to vote in
the next general election if they could vote online. Certainly, the
2001 general election, which had the lowest voter turnout since
1918, points to a high level of apathy towards conventional voting
methods.
Bernard Diamant, director of corporate services at the London
Borough of Brent, which is currently working with the European
Union on the issue of e-voting, believes that the Internet could
help involve more people in the democratic process. He said, "This
is an opportunity to get more people involved in democracy,
particularly at the younger end." The issue of security, however,
is absolutely critical, he added.
Security is the major stumbling block in the way of widescale
e-voting. Ian Keys director of think-tank, the New Local Government
Network, explained, "Voters have to have confidence in the system
that is used to measure their vote."
The research from Touch backs this up. Researchers found that 75%
of voters were concerned that another individual could use their
digital identity to cast their vote. Moreover, some 70% of voters
also expressed concern about confidentiality and ensuring that data
was not available to other government departments and third
parties.
E-voting may be a good idea in principle but there are a number of
technical hurdles to be overcome before it can be used in general
elections. In this way, the Government faces a difficult task. On
the one hand it is encountering growing public demand for e-voting
but there is still reticence about the use of technology.
Paul McCann, deputy managing director of systems integrator Sopra
Group UK, explained, "The technology isn't there to achieve a
perfect solution yet, but there needs to be a balance between what
you can do with the technology and what you want to achieve."
The Government's response has been to set up a series of pilot
schemes to examine the issues, both technical, and otherwise,
surrounding the use of new voting technologies. Earlier this year
the Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions
(DTLR) gave the go-ahead for 31 councils to run pilot tests on new
ways of voting in May's local and mayoral elections.
A cautious approach is definitely the best way to tackle such a
complex issue. Central Government's track record on major IT
projects is at best patchy and the last thing it wants is egg on
its face at general election time.
Software specialist Compuware, which has been involved in
monitoring the performance of public sector Web sites, believes
that the progress of the pilot schemes is crucial. Vange Yianni,
technology manager at Compuware, said, "For e-voting to be
successful, the first experience has to be very positive, there is
a lot of media attention around it at the moment."
The schemes set up by the Government cover a range of technologies
and voting methods. For example, Internet voting from home, local
libraries and council-run information kiosks will be tested in
parts of Crewe, Nantwich, St Albans and Swindon. Other schemes
include e-voting via digital television and mobile phone text
messaging in parts of Liverpool and Sheffield.
Government officials say that security in the pilot schemes will be
provided in a number of different ways including the use of Pin
numbers and security codes. Eligible voters in Swindon, for
example, will be given a two-part security code, which will be
delivered in a sealed document similar to that used by banks for
credit card numbers.
When he launched the strategy, local government minister Nick
Raynsford pointed to the popularity of postal voting in the 2000
local elections and 2001 general election as evidence of the
potential of alternative voting methods.
Although only a first step towards e-voting, the schemes are
evidence of the Government's commitment towards opening up the
democratic process via technology. Indeed, the DTLR is providing
£3.5m worth of IT investment for the authorities involved.
The financial backing is in place and so, evidently, is the
political will. Raynsford has already stated that the Government
wants to learn from the pilots so that it can modernise the UK's
voting arrangements. He has also proposed a more extensive set of
pilots at future local elections and hinted at the possibility of
an e-enabled general election some time after 2006.
Brave words, but it is crucial for the Government to avoid some of
the public sector IT disasters of recent years if it is going to
achieve this. For example, the Public Record Office's problems with
the 1901 census Web site have highlighted the importance of
building sufficient capacity into systems.
Mark Prichard, senior architect of BEA Systems, which has worked
with the German government and the Canadian province of Quebec on
e-voting, agrees that having sufficient infrastructure in place is
critical. He explained, "They have to deal with the fact that this
is very high volumes of demand for relatively small periods."
The task of developing e-voting is a massive one and the Government
is wise in taking a softly, softly approach to it. One need only
look at the confusion caused by 2000's shambolic US election to see
the turmoil that inefficient electoral processes can cause.
We should get a clearer idea of what e-voting really means after
the May elections. Proposals on the use of new technology are
expected from the Office of the E-Envoy and the DTLR later this
year. Either way, it appears that we are still some way from an
Internet general election. One thing is certain, though, even the
most advanced electoral technology will not guarantee we get the
politicians to match.
Where will you be voting electronically?- Parts of Liverpool and Sheffield to trial e-voting including
mobile phone text messaging and using local digital television
- Parts of Crewe and Nantwich, St Albans and Swindon to trial
Internet voting from home, local libraries and council-run
information kiosks
- Gateshead, North Tyneside, Stevenage and Chorley to pilot
all-postal ballots throughout their area
- Others including the London boroughs of Camden and Wandsworth,
Chester, Rugby and Broxbourne to trial electronic counting, early
voting and extended polling hours