Edging Towards Modernisation of the Electoral Process in Scotland Jeff Hawkins, Returning Officer East Renfrewshire Council Workshop on e-Voting and e-Government in the UK Edinburgh February 2006

Background/recent history of developments in Scotland Explanation of the current e:counting project Some practical considerations Implications of a successful e:count

Thearcane and incremental nature of UK electoral law and, indeed, electoral practice – means that voting procedures have changed very little in over 100 years. (The implementation of Electronic Voting in the UK. A Research Report 2002)

Emphasis in recent times in changing the manner in which we elect people – ELECTORAL SYSTEMS rather than Modernising the conduct and administration of elections – THE PROCESS

Scottish Local Government (Elections) Act 2002 confers power to pilot All postal ballots Voting on more than one day or a day other than a Thursday Early voting Extended voting hours Mobile polling stations Electronic voting or counting

Representation of The People Act 2000 Sections 10 and 11 conferred power to pilot in England and Wales May Pilots -17 tested forms of electronic voting or counting

May pilots -4 provide for E:counting Electronic counting of ballots will build on past work and test how this can be refined to ensure confidence and support future use of technology to gain efficiencies in the administration of elections. This will also enable us to identify how technology can support counting in the different voting systems used on local authority and regional elections. Department of Constitutional Affairs Electoral Pilots

Extract from evaluation report of a Scottish all postal pilot (2002) “There was consensus by stakeholders that any combined elections, e.g. local government and Scottish Parliament elections, would need to be CONDUCTED IN A CONVENTIONAL MANNER for logistical and legislative reasons …. Moreover, to conduct 2 or more elections in parallel by different means would be logistically and cost prohibitive”

Combined Elections 2007 STV real driver for change Views of Professional Associations Decoupling Electronic Counting

Two previous combined elections in Scotland “Given the complexity of counting votes under the 3 electoral systems to be used for the London elections (in 2000), it was possible that a traditional manual count could take several days with increased scope for error.” Electronic counting at the London elections, June The Electoral Commission.

STV totally new to – Candidates/agents Electoral administrators Voters STV is not a list based system Observations of Northern Ireland Elections EPIC AND LABYRINTHINE!

Eire, European & Local Elections June 2004 Commission on Electronic Voting : - CONCLUSION – “On the basis of its review of expert reports, submissions received and other relevant information to date, the Commission finds that it is not in a position to recommend with the requisite degree of confidence the use of the chosen system at elections in June 2004 … The Commission has not been able to satisfy itself as to the accuracy of secrecy of the system for the following reasons:-

SYSTEM TESTING – the tests of the system carried out to date are insufficient to establish its reliability for use at elections in Ireland in June. SOFTWARE VERSIONS – there is not sufficient time before the June elections for a full system testing of the final version of the software that would be necessary before it could be used in these elections and the final version of the software is not available for testing at this point in time.

New Zealand 2004 STV/Electronic Counting Post Event Review (KPMG) The complexity and risks associated with the project were not fully appreciated by those involved. Project management was inadequate in a number of areas – risk management technical specification resource analysis testing and reporting

“The process was more complex than in other elections as a result of needing to include both FPTP and STV information ….. The majority of project time was spent on logistics management versus the development and testing of the system to process the STV votes …..”

“Preparations for the electronic count in London (in 2004) began more than TWO AND A HALF YEARS BEFORE the election and the day of the count. Evaluation of the first London elections in May 2000, which used electronic counting for the first time, informed the development of proposals to implement an improved electronic counting solution for 2004”

“There is surely time between now and 2007 to ensure that software necessary for a STV electronic count can be developed and satisfactorily tested” Extract from SOLAR submission, October 2003, on Local Governance (Scotland) Bill.

Scottish ExecutiveScottish Parliament Scotland OfficeElectoral Commission Convention of Scottish Local Authorities SOLAR SOLACEAEA Sub Groups - Legislation Training Voter Awareness E:Counting * *Tender Evaluation Panel Steering Group for Scottish Parliament and Local Elections 2007

Electronic Counting Timetable Invitation to Tender (ITT) issue 29 August 2005 Return date for ITT 21 October 2005 Short Listed supplier presentations 10 November 2005 Decision to recommend preferred bidder 30 November 2005 Contract Award January 2006 Trials for 32 local authorities 13 February – 3 March 2006 Acceptance Test April/May 2006 Decision to Proceed with E:counting for 3 May 2007 May/June 2006

Weighted Inclusive Gregory (WIG) 6, 10 and 32 count centre options 12 hour timescale Visibility/Transparency (Verification)

Basis of Trials Content Observation Next Stage (?)

Other Big Decisions - Timing of Count (Electoral Commission January 2006 : Review of the timing of counts at Scottish Parliamentary and local government elections) Number of Count Centres (Efficient government considerations versus local democracy)

Practical considerations - Size of ballot paper Number of ballot boxes Power capacity of counting venues Standardisation of adjudication process

Post 2007 Consolidation v Multi Channel E:voting Halfway House

Electronic Voting/Counting in a Polling Station or equivalent “It is imperative that if E:voting and counting are to have political and public confidence that the security of the process must not be compromised …. For this reason it is suggested that the present practice of having a presiding officer and polling clerk within a polling station cannot be dispensed with.”

Co-ordinated Online Register of Electors (CORE) Gradual Process Leave Internet, TV, phone and text voting for another day