May 1, 2003
SMS voting in UK elections
In the biggest experiment in electronic and postal voting to date, 59 local authorities are offering 6.5 million electors new voting opportunities in an effort to increase voter turnout which has progressively worsened over recent years, according to an article in the BBC.
Voters will be able to cast votes by SMS, touch-tone telephone, the internet, interactive digital television and touch screen equipment at polling stations, in in elections to the Scottish Parliament, the Welsh Assembly and thousands of council seats across England and Scotland.
In a previous experiment conducted on a trial basis run by BT last May 2nd, Liverpool voters were able to vote by texting in local elections, an attempt by the councils to encourage young voters to have their say in government affairs. (cf Mercury News).
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