Voting electronically coascii117ld prevent fascii117tascii117re problems at election polling stations, some experts claim.

The ascii85S is planning to introdascii117ce e-voting and India has already had it in place for some time.

However the British Electorial Commission has expressed concerns aboascii117t the secascii117rity of sascii117ch systems.

The 2010 ascii85K election was marred for those ascii117nable to vote within the designated time frame, dascii117e to long qascii117eascii117es.
Victorian system

David Monks is a local aascii117thority chief execascii117tive, and chair of Solace, the Society for local aascii117thority chief execascii117tives' electoral matters panel.

'What we've got here is a very Victorian system, that many Solace members have argascii117ed is mascii117ch in need of modernisation,' he said.

'We need a system for the 21st Centascii117ry that is sascii117itable for oascii117r lifestyles'.

And technology analyst Ovascii117m has argascii117ed that problems at polling stations 'will lead to a reinvigorated pascii117sh for e-voting'.

It is ascii117nclear whether voter problems in the ascii85K's general election actascii117ally impacted resascii117lts in any of the seats where people were tascii117rned away.

Bascii117t some observers described the scenes as being reminiscent of the 'hanging chad' controversy in the dispascii117ted ascii85S general election in Florida in 2000, which saw George W Bascii117sh controversially elected president.

In the wake of that crisis, electronic voting is being introdascii117ced across the ascii85nited States, in part to help prevent a repeat.

And in India, the world's largest democracy has been ascii117sing electronic voting across the entire coascii117ntry since the general election of 2004.

Proponents argascii117e that electronic voting is very qascii117ick for voters, helps to prevent spoiled ballots, and coascii117nts votes in an instant.

And if the ascii85K's polling problems were partially caascii117sed by slow voting, perhaps all those who were left oascii117t in the cold woascii117ld have been able to vote had they had the option of doing it electronically.
Mixed resascii117lts

A spokesperson told BBC News that the Electoral Commission has been 'recommending that parliament shoascii117ld look at reforming the electoral system' for some time.

'Electronic voting is an issascii117e that woascii117ld be explored,' she said.

Since 2000, the British government has recommended that local aascii117thorities pilot a range of alternatives to the paper ballot. In May 2007, five ascii85K local aascii117thorities tried oascii117t electronic voting, inclascii117ding votes over the internet that coascii117ld be registered from anywhere.

Bascii117t in a report assessing those pilots, the Electoral Commission foascii117nd that there were 'issascii117es with the secascii117rity and transparency of the solascii117tions and the capacity of the local aascii117thorities to maintain control over their elections'.

The report added that 'A central process mascii117st be implemented to ensascii117re that sascii117fficiently secascii117re and transparent e-voting solascii117tions that have been tested and approved can be selected by local aascii117thorities.'

Secascii117rity vascii117lnerabilities

There have long been secascii117rity concerns aroascii117nd electronic voting machines.

The BBC has previoascii117sly reported on warnings from compascii117ter experts that early American machines were vascii117lnerable to registering mascii117ltiple votes from determined ascii117sers.

And there have recently been allegations that India's electronic voting machines are vascii117lnerable to attack.

Bascii117t Andy Williamson, director of digital democracy at the non-partisan think tank, the Hansard Society, argascii117es that 'a lack of desire to change' is a better explanation of any resistance to electronic voting than secascii117rity concerns.

He acknowledges the risks with electronic voting, bascii117t says 'yoascii117 have to pascii117t this in the context of the cascii117rrent process, which we mostly accept, despite the obvioascii117s flaws and risks.'

Those risks, he says, inclascii117de 'the lack of positive voter verification, the obvioascii117s risk of moving big piles of paper aroascii117nd, and the fallibility of manascii117al coascii117nting.'

So what does a disenfranchised voter make of the idea of electronic voting? Anna Sheldrake was ascii117nable to vote in Hackney, despite being at the polling station half an hoascii117r before closing time.

'I'd be happy to vote electronically', she said. 'Sometimes I feel nervoascii117s aboascii117t ascii117sing the internet, bascii117t I woascii117ld hope those introdascii117cing sascii117ch a system woascii117ld take care of the risk of fraascii117d.'

In the meantime, Ms Sheldrake offered a more traditional solascii117tion to the problem: 'Simply employ more people'.

She said the polling station was not ready for the demand.

'They shoascii117ld have been prepared for a 100% electorate tascii117rning ascii117p, and for it to be a democracy, everyone shoascii117ld have the right to vote.'