Last updated on December 17, 2013

In the 2008 London mayoral and assembly elections, electronic ballot scanners were used in three centralized counting centers. However, after observing the process, the British NGO Open Rights Group cited a lack of transparency in several areas that did not allow for observers to confirm that the results were an accurate reflection of voters’ intentions. In its report, Open Rights Group made a number of recommendations for the use of electronic counting systems in future elections.

In 2008, the British digital rights NGO Open Rights Group deployed 27 observers to follow voting and counting during the London mayoral and London Assembly elections. The group focused in particular on assessing the counting process, as the vote count was conducted using electronic ballot scanners at three centralized counting centers. The final report released by Open Rights Group concluded that “there is insufficient evidence available to allow independent observers to state reliably whether the results are an accurate reflection of voters’ intentions.” 

In particular the group criticized inadequate transparency of the process, including the inability of observers to witness the recording of valid votes and the lack of a random manual audit on a sample of ballot scanning machines to assess the overall accuracy of the counting process. The group also criticized the lack of observer access to the control desk of the equipment supplier, despite the fact that its computers were connected to the counting server. 

In its report, Open Rights Group offered five key recommendations to authorities for improving the system in the future. The group also provided recommendations for the future consideration of using e-counting technologies more broadly, which included conducting a thorough cost-benefit analysis of the use of e-counting machines; allowing sufficient time for formal consultations with key stakeholders before deciding whether to use e-counting technologies in the future; and building in sufficient time for procurement and implementation of any new technologies.⁴⁰

^{40 The full report can be found here: www.openrightsgroup.org/wp-content/uploads/orglondonelectionsreport.pdf.}