ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews the existing literature on voting technologies. It explains the evolution of plans to introduce individual electoral registration (IER) in Britain and the existing evidence about the effects of the reform. The most complete assessment to date of the impact of IER was that undertaken by the Electoral Commission. The chapter provides new research on the effects of IER, but also a more holistic understanding of the effects of introducing reforms. The reduction of opportunities for electoral fraud was both the stated aim of the government reform and the anticipated effect of many officials. Electoral officials stressed that the online registration system had made electoral registration much easier. Qualitative comments suggested that many electoral officials experienced ‘a few’ problems with citizens providing identifiers. Reforms to electoral registration and polling processes tend to only be evaluated in terms of whether they reduce opportunities for electoral fraud or increase participation.
