Back in January, thirteen authorities were approved to take part in twelve electoral pilot schemes for the May 3 elections. Each council was approved following an application process open to all local authorities. The Department for Constitutional Affairs has confirmed that both the Electoral Commission and the Association of Electoral Administrators were been fully consulted and involved in the selection process.
However The Guardian has claimed that internet security experts have shown it a number of potential hacks to the system, in one case claiming the safeguards were “catastrophically weak”.
The government has acknowledged that it was made aware of potential loopholes in the pilots, but said it felt security procedures were sufficient to stop potential hackers or vote rigging. However, critics are calling for independent reviews of computer software and hardware to ensure the security of votes.
One point which defendants of the scheme raise, is the interest shown by the public in the scheme, and its potential to raise voter turnout.
In one pilot, operated by Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council, the public demonstrated a high level of interest in e-voting. By the Apri 25 over 800 people had voted using the telephone or internet.
The majority of people (638) had voted online using their own computer or the Internet kiosks made available by the council at a local shopping centre, and the remaining 191 voters had registered their vote by telephone.
Gareth Owens, Deputy Returning Officer at the council was pleased with the success of the pilot. “Many people believe that electronic voting will appeal more to younger people. This time around we have been asking people for their date of birth as part of the security arrangements, and we have found that it is actually older voters who are using the system most. Indeed on one day we had 3 octogenarians visit the polling station in the Pride Hill shopping centre.”
The systems used in the pilots are devised by American firm Election Systems and Software, who the government said provided “a satisfactory response” when the security of the scheme was first brought into question. The software of concern is said to affect two out of the twelve regions, home to more than 100,000 voters.
Electoral reform has been at the heart of controversy before. In America’s recent mid-term elections, new technology was blamed for the 18,000 votes that were ‘lost’ in Florida alone.
