Electoral pilot scheme evaluation Dover District Council August 2007 Translations and other formats For information on obtaining this publication in another language or in a large-print or Braille version please contact the Electoral Commission: Tel: 020 7271 0500 Email:
[email protected] We are an independent body set up by the UK Parliament. Our aim is integrity and public confidence in the democratic process. We regulate party and election finance and set standards for well-run elections. Contents Summary 3 1 Introduction 4 2 Context 6 3 Pilot scheme description 7 4 Evaluation 11 Efficiency 11 Use of technology 12 Voting 16 Impact on counting 17 Security and confidence 19 Turnout 20 Cost and value for money 21 5 Conclusions and findings 22 1 Summary Dover District Council successfully conducted an electoral pilot that involved the electronic counting of ballot papers. Conclusions and findings The pilot scheme facilitated the counting of votes, rather than voting itself. Electronic counting took approximately two hours less than a traditional count. The pilot scheme in this regard was a success, demonstrating efficiency, and there is potential to decrease the total time taken to count the votes compared with a manual count in the future. Turnout of voters was no higher or lower than it would otherwise have been. Turnout was 38.02%. Electronic counting is an administrative process with minimal impact on the voting process. On the whole, voters found procedures easy to follow. The only change in voting procedure was that a voter did not fold their ballot paper when delivering their ballot paper into the ballot box at the polling station.