The Government approved the use of electronic voting and counting at the European and local elections in June 2004 following its successful use in a number of constituencies at the general election and at the Nice referendum in 2002. The purpose of the new system is to modernise the electoral system that has generally remained unchanged for over 100 years. Cost is an important factor but it was not the sole determinant factor for introducing the system. It is intended to make it easier for electors to vote, to eliminate spoilt votes except if they arise in the postal and special voter categories, to improve the accuracy of vote counting and to provide more efficiency in electoral administration.
Final figures on the comparative cost of a national poll carried out manually and electronically will not be available until late next year. When comparing costs it is necessary to note factors such as the increasing size of the electorate, days of the week on which polling and vote counting are held, polling hours, number of polls held on the same day and increasing labour costs. The Government considered these factors when reaching its decision.
The initial cost of acquiring the system as a capital asset that requires no regular maintenance between polls was taken into consideration. Substantial savings will arise with each poll held. For example, it is anticipated that the number of staff required for vote counting will decrease by at least 75% and the number of ballot papers requiring printing will reduce from around three million to about 30,000. Other efficiencies will arise from the use of the system. Consultants were not engaged to assess comparative costs.
