E-voting tech trials ditched by government

The government has ditched plans for wide-ranging trials of internet and SMS voting next year that are supposed to pave the way for e-voting technology to be used at the next general election.

The e-voting trials were due to kick off in 2006 as part of a two-year electoral modernisation project being run by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) but a tender inviting bids from IT suppliers to run the projects next year has now been cancelled.

The ODPM said: "This notice has been cancelled as the government has decided not to invite applications to conduct electronic electoral modernisation pilots in 2006. All organisations that submitted an expression of interest in the tender have been notified of the cancellation."

The trials were scheduled to include internet, telephone, text message and digital TV voting channels, electronic polling stations and vote counting systems, voter verification technology and other electronic services to "make elections straightforward, efficient, secure and, above all, readily accessible to all electors given modern lifestyles".

The Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA) has now taken over lead responsibility for the electoral modernisation programme from the ODPM after a recent government reshuffle.

No-one at the DCA was immediately available for comment.