Written question asked by Lord Watson of Wyre Forest (Labour) on Tuesday, 18 November 2003, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 20 November 2003. It was answered by Phil Hope (Labour) on Thursday, 20 November 2003 on behalf of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.

Office of the Deputy Prime Minister

Question: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what discussions he has had with the Electoral Commission on the security of the electronic voting machines provided by Diebold for the pilot project in Manchester.

Answer: Mr. Watson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what discussions he has had with the Electoral Commission on the security of the electronic voting machines provided by Diebold for the pilot project in Manchester. [140236] Phil Hope: In May 2000 two very small-scale pilots were held in Bury and Salford using e-voting kiosks supplied by Trilogy Information Systems. Subsequent to these elections Trilogy Information Systems was acquired by Diebold. No election pilots have been conducted using Diebold e-voting kiosks. The pilots in 2000 took place before the Electoral Commission was created. At this time, Returning Officers were responsible for the procurement and evaluation for individual pilots.

Secondary information