1. UK Electoral Modernisation Position
Paul Docker - Head of Electoral Strategy
18 October 2008
Title slide of presentation.

2. Background
Aim: to develop voter participation by improving accessibility and convenience;
Current position has been informed by over 150 pilots in UK since 2002 and experience from overseas;
Progress is challenging due to variety of political and technical constraints.

3. Recent progress
Pilots (the most recent in May 2007) demonstrated that:
Remote electronic voting can contribute to increases in turnout
there is broad support by electors for e-voting
e-voting in polling stations does little to improve voter participation
From this we have concluded that remote e-voting offers the greatest potential for achieving the UK’s aims and it will be the basis of any future work.

4. Next Steps
The gain a better understanding of public attitudes toward and demand for remote e-voting;
further policy development
further testing in non-statutory elections
planning for potential pilots after 2010
Note: Mark – just talk to this, it’s fairly straightforward.

5. Issues we face Ministerial engagement and support
Financial constraints
Ongoing support from Electoral Administrators
Effective addressing of issues around trust and security