Simultaneous States voting moves closer through app
A NEW app that could reduce copy-cat voting in the States is expected to move closer next week after an IT company behind it visits the Assembly for tests.
States’ Assembly & Constitution Committee president Carl Meerveld believes the technology could create a more genuine and credible voting system.
‘What I think it may do is avoid some of the sheep mentality that has happened,’ he said.
‘Sometimes when we have an oral vote it sounds like it’s gone either way. Then we have a recorded vote following it and sometimes it comes out with a different result.’
He said there had been concerns that deputies heard the vote going in a certain direction, or saw their colleagues voting another way, and could be influenced by that.
‘Simultaneous electronic voting means you wouldn’t see the results until after you pressed the button, so I think people will vote with their conscience more and be less influenced by their peers.’
Representatives from the IT company will be looking around the Chamber on Tuesday to understand the physical set-up.
The simultaneous voting app, accessible by mobile phones, tablets and computers, should reduce significantly the amount of time it takes to hold ballots.
Traditionally, members record their votes by calling out ‘pour’ or ‘contre’ indicating for or against a proposition or ‘je ne vote pas’ to abstain.
Test simulations so far have found that the app works well.
The aim has been to create something simple but, unlike with dating app Tinder, members will not swipe left or right to indicate their preference.
Votes could also be published instantaneously on the gov.gg website, a move which is considered to be good for democracy and transparency.
After the demo app has been built and tested fully, Sacc will ask the States whether it agrees with the idea.
Deputy Meerveld said there was an existing States resolution on simultaneous electronic voting but the issue had been the cost at a time of austerity, as well as what kind of technology to adopt.
‘In the chamber we actually have brass plates that were put there in anticipation of a Jersey-style system, which is done through buttons, but of course during Covid we operated remotely and what that has done is make the States Assembly take almost a generational leap in its awareness of the use of technology.’
That had now increased the acceptability of using an app for simultaneous voting, and because an app did not need to be tied to a physical building or location, it could be used remotely in a Covid-type situation or in the Chamber.
Security measures would be designed into the app to keep outsiders from hacking in.
States members would sign in using their parliamentary credentials and there would be various levels of authentication.
