e-Voting not to be implemented until 2010

Concerns over security

27 October 2008 18:17 GMT / By Katie Scott

Following on from concerns about security, the Government has opted not to move over to an e-voting system next year.

Michael Wills, the minister for justice, has now gone on the record stating: "The Government does not plan to introduce e-voting for the 2009 European or local elections."

The move follows widespread criticism of the e-Voting system used during the mayoral election in London this year.

In particular, concerns were raised over the design of the electronic system as well as how rigorously it had been tested.

There is a more general mistrust of the security of e-Voting systems.

But the Government is not ruling out e-Voting beyond 2009, and online reports suggest it is going to continue to fund research into electronic voting systems "from the already exiting budgets earmarked for electoral modernisation schemes".

The government has already spent more than £2.7m on building an electronic database of voters.

Full tags

Software, Elections, Online, Voting