§ Mrs. GordonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans he has for the voting and counting arrangements for the Greater London Authority elections on 4 May 2000. [76729]
§ Mr. RaynsfordI am pleased to announce that today we have sent an advertisement to the Office of the Official Journal for publication in "Tenders Electronic Daily" inviting expressions of interest from companies which could provide electronic voting equipment. This would enable votes in the first Greater London Authority elections to be electronically recorded and counted.
The new Authority will be modern, streamlined and efficient and we should work towards a voting system to match. This is particularly appropriate as the ballots for electing the Mayor and two types of Assembly Member require a more complex count than for most elections in this country. It is right, therefore to explore whether modern technology could improve the speed and efficiency of the process.
However, our top priority is to run a successful election on 4 May 2000, so we will be looking at systems which have proved extremely reliable in national or regional elections elsewhere. We will not therefore be committed to the use of electronic voting systems unless we are confident that the equipment offered will be easy for people to use, be value for money and make a real contribution to the success of the elections.