Almost two thirds of Brits back digital voting on tablet and mobile
A majority of British adults are in support of extending general election votes to tablet and mobile devices, according to research from Manchester-based digital marketing agency Tecmark.
A YouGov poll of 1,566 adults,comissioned by the firm, found that 63 per cent of respondents said they believe enabling digital voting would drastically increase voter turnout, while a third (35 per cent) opposed the introduction of technology to the process.
Eighteen per cent of those asked were unsure about the induction of digital voting into the UK democratic construct. Over 60s were the most against the voting system (46 per cent) but still achieved a majority (52 per cent) in the data set.
Security concerns arose however, a majority (51 per cent) said they would be less willing to trust the results of any election which included mobile and tablet voting.
Tecmark managing director Richard Heyes said: “At a time when voter apathy is at an all-time high, our findings suggest the introduction of smartphone/tablet voting would help more people engage with the democratic process.
“Every general election between 1922 and 1997 had a turnout of more than 70%. Each of three elections since then, in 2001, 2005 and 2010, has fallen below that figure.”
He concluded: “We have a thriving digital community in the UK with global expertise. If Parliament is serious about modernising and becoming more relevant, then smartphone/tablet voting must become a reality sooner rather than later.”
The research was sparked by calls from John Bercow, chairman of the Digital Democracy Commission, that people should be able to cast their vote online in the 2020 general election.
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Tecmark
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