§ Mr. ColmanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what progress he has made with the possibility of using electronic equipment in the Greater London Authority elections. [90057]
§ Mr. RaynsfordThe Government have been considering the potential for introducing more innovative and up to date electoral procedures. Electronic voting is one of the areas the Howarth Working Party recommended for further consideration and piloting. The Working Party expects to submit a summary of its recommendations to Government later this month and its detailed report at the end of the summer. The London Mayor and Assembly elections on 4 May 2000 provide an excellent opportunity to introduce a more up to date system of voting or counting, more in keeping with our modern way of life.
Following the invitation for expressions of interest from potential suppliers, issued in March, we received a number of suggestions as to how we might make best use of some form of electronic voting equipment for the London elections next year. We have shortlisted four potential suppliers, all of which have experience in elections worldwide where electronic equipment has been used successfully and offer either touch-screen voting at polling stations or optical scanning equipment to speed the counting process. The four suppliers are Data and Research Services Plc; Election Systems and Software Inc with Unisys Ltd.; Nedap; and Smurfit Ltd.
The next stage is to carefully consider the detailed proposals for London's elections which the four shortlisted suppliers have been invited to submit. Our top priority is to run a successful election on 4 May 2000—less than a year away. We need to be sure that the use of electronic equipment will be cost effective, help rather than confuse voters, and lead to a more efficient delivery of results. The Greater London Authority will be a new modern form of governance and we need to consider voting systems to match as we move into the 21st century.