News

e-voting fails to thrill British electorate

May 8, 2002

LONDON -- One week after alternative voting methods, including electronic kiosks, were given a trial run in British local elections, officials said the e-voting test did not have a significant effect on turnout.

While postal voting was a success, with turnout rising in areas where postal ballots were used instead of traditional methods, turnout was barely affected by e-voting methods.

"We were extremely disappointed with the results of e-voting," David Allen, a spokesman for the St. Albans Labour party, told CNN.com. Touchscreen kiosks were set up at two supermarkets in St. Albans for voters. "Turnout was worse than last year."

In Liverpool, where text-message voting was tested, turnout only rose by about 2 percent compared to last year.

The problem, according to Allen, was not the kiosks themselves, but the confusion and uncertainty over the new voting method.

"People were actually deterred by the systems," he said. "There were no technical problems -- the kiosks ran efficiently -- but people just didn't want to use the technology. It's that simple."

Alex Folkes, a spokesman for the Electoral Reform Society, said more trials would need to be run, and that it was too early to determine the viability of e-kiosks.