Anne Begg MP

Anne Begg MP (Labour) for Aberdeen South.

Digital Economy Bill

Contacted by at least one ORG supporter.

Surgeries

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Electronic Voting

House of Commons debates Electoral Administration Bill 8 November 2005

If the hon. Gentleman is saying that he wants to reach out and involve as many people as possible in voting, why on earth has he tabled amendment No. 23, which rules out all modern types of voting such as electronic voting, telephone voting and text message voting? Surely that amendment contradicts what he has just said.

The hon. Gentleman describes the current position with electronic voting or text messaging, but five years ago, I could not even text: the technology is moving at an incredibly rapid pace. Those types of voting could be secure in five years' time, but they would be ruled out if we were to agree to the amendment. It is very narrow minded and backward looking to rule out those innovative ways of voting.

Early Day Motions

Wrote Early Day Motion 656 Access for disabled voters to the general election 2005 21 July 2005

That this House welcomes Scope's recent Polls Apart campaign, supported by Capability Scotland and Disability Action Northern Ireland, focusing on access for disabled voters to the General Election 2005; is very concerned at its findings that reveal that 68 per cent. of polling stations and 63 per cent. of postal voting systems were inaccessible to disabled people; notes that disabled people's legal rights under the Representation of the People Act 2000 and Disability Discrimination Act 1995 are not being property enforced; further notes that the electoral system still excludes many disabled people and denies them their basic right to a secret ballot; regrets that there will be no e-voting pilots run this year to expand the voting options available to disabled people; and calls on the Government to enforce disabled people's existing legal rights and continue to develop and pilot fully accessible e-voting systems with a view to rolling out multi-channel voting nationwide within the next five years.