There has been widespread reporting across national media this week concerning the government’s announcement on the Flexible Voting Pilots.
The I, Daily Mail and Independent and Metro all reported positively on the pilots, which will see voters able to cast their ballots in shopping centres and at weekends in four areas for the upcoming May local elections. The pieces note that the pilots will aim to ‘bring voting into the 21st Century’ and may see the first major reforms to in-person voting for 150 years,
BBC News reported that the findings from the pilots will be published later this year and inform future decisions on electoral reform, also outlining how future pilots could include mobile voting stations and people being able to vote at any polling station in their council area.
ITV News reported that the pilots are part of the government's efforts to deliver on a manifesto pledge to "encourage participation in democracy".
A number of regional and trade outlets also reported how the pilots will benefit local residents, including Hitchin News, the Local Government Chronicle and MKFM.
The Minister for Democracy, Samantha Dixon, also spoke to BBC Three Counties and BBC Radio Kent about the pilots, describing how they will make voting easier and more accessible for electors in Tunbridge Wells, Milton Keynes and North Hertfordshire.
Minister for Democracy Samantha Dixon said:
“The way we vote in person has not adapted to people’s busy lives, with voters often given no choice but to cast their ballot at strictly set polling stations within limited hours.
Our trials will make polling days more convenient and test out the first real changes for over 100 years, bringing our democracy into the 21st century.”