SmarterUK created the AI-STEVE platform to improve democracy by allowing voters to access their MP 24/7, 365 from their homes, to discuss and shape policies.
It is logical next step to examine how we could make voting on key topics easier so that more of the population is engaged and votes, which is where electronic voting comes in.
In recent years, most of us have migrated to Electronic Banking and trust all our wealth virtually to the security procedures that enable us to log in securely and transact. Given this, it is not hard to imagine that the UK Government could create a similarly secure and anonymous voting platform.
However, Government departments and large IT projects have never been good bedfellows, as demonstrated by the Post Offices Horizon scandal and a shockingly inept Electoral Commission Website. We, therefore, would not want our general elections to become electronic at this stage as we believe they could be hacked and influenced by foreign states like China and Russia.
SmarterUK would therefore recommend testing secure electronic voting over the next four years on potential referendum topics, such as the introduction of National Conscription for 18-year-olds.
This policy has been put forward by the Conservative Party with Zero voter research, which cannot be allowed in the future.
SmarterUK wants to reconnect and involve a much larger proportion of the UK population in the Governance of their country. Regular electronic voting will be more effective than parties being elected based on four-year manifestos that rarely actually get delivered.
