Alternative Vote referendum sparks call for e-voting

The proportion of voters backing a digitised ballot card system has increased from 19 to 43 per cent since 2005

The Alternative Vote referendum has sparked a new call for e-voting to attract a new generation of voters to take part in democracy, with proponents claiming that "it seems mad" to deny the use of IT.

Virgin Media director Lee Hull issued a statement insisting that AV is not the only way of boosting voter power. He suggested the "digital native" 18-24 age group could be attracted if IT were used in voting.

He said a study indicated the proportion of voters backing a digitised ballot card system has increased from 19 to 43 per cent since 2005.

"Politicians have recognised that the internet is a great channel for engaging with the public – a notable figure being Barack Obama, who recently launched his re-election campaign via YouTube and a Facebook app. Yet more could be done to harness the power of the internet," said Hull.

"When you consider that most people will use the web to research politicians, register to vote, and check in at polling stations, it seems mad that we still can't cast our votes online."

He added: "The public has become used to using the internet for shopping, banking and entertainment; many of us even used it to fill in the Census.

"Introducing e-voting is the next logical step, which should stand us in great stead for the future and will ultimately encourage more people to get involved in government decisions at a national and local level."

Experiments with e-voting received a major setback four years ago when ballot counting systems used in the last election for the Scottish Parliament broke down and delayed the results.

The only advance in voting methods has been the right to a postal ballot, which itself has sparked fears of electoral fraud.

Some politicians are fearful the necessary switch to individual personal registration would itself reduce voter participation, because individual PINs or passwords would be required.

The current system requires one registration for all voters in a household with a sample signature for those demanding postal votes.