Post in Joseph Rowntree Report on UK elections

Apr 28 11:44 UTC

Hi,
During 2007, the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust commissioned Stuart Wilks-Heeg of
the University of
Liverpool to undertake an independent, evidence-based review of electoral
processes and
procedures in the UK. The task of the review was to establish the extent to
which available evidence
highlights potential threats to the integrity of UK elections.

For our purposes I'm going to highlight 3 of the findings:
* The benefits of postal and electronic voting have been exaggerated,
particularly in relation to claims
about increased turnout and social inclusion.
* There is substantial evidence to suggest that money can have a powerful
impact on the outcome of
general elections, particularly where targeted at marginal constituencies over
sustained periods of
time.
* Outside of ministerial circles, there is a widespread view that a fundamental
overhaul of UK
electoral law, administration and policy is urgently required.

here's the summary:
http://www.jrrt.org.uk/Purity%20of%20Elections%20in%20the%20UK%20-%20Executive%20Summary.pdf
here's the full report:
http://www.jrrt.org.uk/Purity%20of%20Elections%20in%20the%20UK.pdf

Here's an overview from the BBC
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7370025.stm

This might also be a good place to note recent articles about the costs of last
year's Scottish elections, which used electronic counting:
"the vote cost nearly £40m to administer, compared to the £17.15m cost of the
same vote in 2003,"
"The figures show that £9m of the £40m cost was given to DRS, the company which
provided the electronic counting machines at last year's poll. A further £3.5m
was spent introducing the electronic system"
These excerpts are from the Scotsman:
http://www.scotsman.com/politics/40m-cost-of-Scottish-.3976689.jp?CommentPage=1&CommentPageLength=1000

Ella Taylor-Smith

International Teledemocracy Centre
Napier University
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Edinburgh, EH10 5DT

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