Electronic Voting

The authorities at the airport claimed Heathrow needed an additional runway to remain competitive and to provide the vital extra capacity to meet growing demand. However, local pressure groups, environmental campaigners, and local authorities all vigorously opposed this proposal. Following a decision that pledged Government support for a third runway at Heathrow and support for the ending of the Cranford Agreement, The London Borough of Hillingdon Council, along with the 2M group of local authorities, local action group NOTRAG and environmental organisations successfully challenged the decision in court.

The London Borough of Hillingdon Council put the matter to a referendum in order to give local residents the opportunity to express their views.

A letter and voting paper were mailed to the 210,000-electorate residing in the London Borough of Hillingdon. The letter gave information about the Referendum and encouraged people to respond via the electronic voting site, but to use the voting slip and reply envelope if this option was unsuitable or difficult for them.

By the close of poll approximately 20,000 people had voted via the electronic voting site and 60,000 people used the paper slip and sent their responses back in the post. This overall response of 80,000 people amounted to nearly 40% of the electorate mailed. We handled all of the replies together with live-time back office reporting to the client.

The results were that two-thirds of the electorate, (66%) voted against the proposals, giving a clear and definitive view of local opinion to the London Borough of Hillingdon Council.

These results were aired via the Mayor of London office and were fully reported in the media. The council was given a full final report, detailing all elements of the process and full voter turnout statistics against each polling district area.