Trade Union Independent Scrutineer, UK Engage, reacts to the ‘Electronic balloting for industrial action: Knight Review.’
As a recently approved independent scrutineer for UK trade union elections and ballots, UK Engage is delighted to see the recommendation for e-voting testing in non-statutory trade union ballots as set out in Sir Ken Knight’s Electronic balloting for industrial action: Knight Review.
Andy Tye, General Manager for UK Engage said, “Although we already supply electronic voting for non-statutory trade union elections in the UK, we welcome the independent review by Sir Ken Knight and its recommendations. Our electronic voting solution has already been used in both statutory and non-statutory trade union ballots and we believe we have the best solution available for these types of elections and ballots.” He went on to say “We are hopeful the Secretary of State will adopt the recommendations and to being involved in this potential landmark process for elections in the UK.”
Electronic balloting, internet voting and e-voting are all solutions that allow a voter to record their vote digitally. This allows voters greater accessibility to the ballot and makes it a convenient way to vote, which is why the technology is used in 1000s of election contests each year in the UK.
Electronic balloting for industrial action: Knight Review and its recommendations show the need for secure, robust and trustworthy electronic voting solutions. As a major supplier of electronic voting in the UK, with over 20 million live votes cast, UK Engage has a solution that is ready to cover all trade union election and ballot requirements.
Current use of electronic voting in the UK
The review contains examples of where electronic voting is already being applied; these include NHS Foundation Trusts, which is a key market sector for UK Engage and one where we have many examples of where electronic voting has been deployed to improve participation and ultimately increase voter turnout. Other examples of where electronic voting is being used to run democratic processes include building societies, sports clubs, professional bodies and co-ops. Electronic balloting for industrial action: Knight Review can be found here [1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/electronic-balloting-for-industrial-action-knight-review