Electoral Commission calls for end to electronic voting tinkering

It seems that the Electoral Commission has issued a report this morning slating the use of electronic voting and phone voting. They have called on the Goevrnment to end all trial of internet and phone voting until it has "set out a strategy for modernising the electoral system and made it more secure". The Commission's press release says,

• No more pilots of electronic voting without a system of individual voter registration. There also needs to be further consideration of its wider implications and significant improvements to testing and implementation.
• No further pilots of electronic counting, and more robust procurement and testing processes when electronic counting is used in future elections.
• That the government makes a decision whether to allow voting in advance of polling day further pilots are unnecessary
• That the government publishes a strategy for modernising the electoral process including changes to improve security
• That the value of signing for ballot papers is limited in the absence of individual registration

Statement of the bleeding obviosu if you ask me. The potential for fraud in these systems has been well documented already, and the complete mess in Scotland shows that tinkering on the edges with pilots has largely been an expensive waste of money fraught with technical issues and allegations of fraud. The Cheif Executive of the Electoral Commission said,

"we do not see any merit in continuing with small-scale, piecemeal piloting where similar innovations are explored each year without sufficient planning and implementation time, and in the absence of any clear direction, or likelihood of new insights."

Who wants to place a bet that the Government completely ignores the advice and carries on playing around with new systems anyway?