I made this speech when I laid an amendment seeking to introduce electronic voting to the States. I was pleased that it passed.
Sir, Electronic Voting is one of those subjects, like Sunday Trading that just keeps on coming back. Indeed I believe this is Deputy Lowe’s 10th debate on the subject. I hope that, just like Sunday Trading, today this Assembly will get into the modern age and support this amendment.
Now, the last time this subject was debated was 4 years ago. And I think that we are in a very different place to where we were in 2014 for a variety of reasons and I don’t mean because some of us are sitting in different seats. It is timely not only to debate this again but also to approve the introduction of simultaneous electronic voting.
Now, actually I didn’t vote for electronic voting last time. For 2 principal reasons. Firstly, we were at the height of FTP with a deficit and the purse strings were well and truly tied in a double knot.
And the other is Deputy Fallaize’s fault. Back then I was persuaded that stretched resources should be spent on improving the parliamentary section of the website. As Deputy Fallaize said at the time, members of the public should be able to search by specific Member, by parish, by date of vote, by item of vote etc and we are very confident that we can put in place those sorts of improvements during 2015 – and very inexpensively.
Well, that will teach me to listen to Deputy Fallaize!
Back in 2014, SACC at the time based its policy letter around the need to balance transparency and efficiency. Where that balance had to be set and how it could be measured quantitatively were not considered though.
3 options for electronic voting were put forward – for every vote, only when an appel nominal would have been held, with individual votes not being read out afterwards and (the system used in the other Crown Dependencies) – The default position would remain voting de vives voix. In any circumstances where at present an appel nominal could or must be held then simultaneous electronic voting would be used. Members could ask for the detailed results to be read out.
This amendment is not prescriptive. I prefer the last option but I would leave it to the new SACC to decide. For me it is the principle. In the last 4 years more parliaments have brought in electronic voting. Indeed some have upgraded their systems in that time. As a jurisdiction wanting to put itself out there as a Digital Economy surely we must be leading by example. Indeed, this amendment supports the Digital Framework in more than one area but noticeably in section 7 – delivery of responsive regulation and legislation.
Members, this is long overdue. Do we want to continue to be an analogue assembly in a digital world? OK, it is quaint but I think there comes a time when quaint can become irritating. Since 2014, the numbers of recorded votes have grown as has the paper used by the Greffier and Deputy Greffier. On that front I have been recording the time each recorded vote has taken yesterday and today and I can say the Deputy Greffier is somewhat speedier than HM Greffier.
Anyhow, now really is the time to change and I urge members to support thi