Go-ahead for Net voting as ministers ignore watchdog

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The Electoral Commission said there was a "worrying lack of detail" about the schemes being introduced in this May's local elections. But these concerns have been ignored by the Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA) which has given the go-ahead for the trails in 12 local authorities.

In a letter to the Constitutional Affairs Secretary, Lord Falconer, the commission said only seven of the trails should take place. It added that it had particular concern about the use of an electronic-system for counting the ballot papers.

Sir Alistair Graham, the chairman of the Committee on Standards in Public Life, has also called on the Government to abandon the trials. He said ministers were "obsessed" with modernisation at the expense of security.

But a spokeswoman for the DCA said the commission's concerns had been discussed with the " project board" overseeing the pilots. "In working these points through, the project board satisfied itself that the issues were resolved and justified their approval."