UPDATE: ‘System update’ to blame for long delays and QR code confusion at Thatcham North East by-elections

UPDATE: A “system update” was responsible for the long delays experienced by voters at the Thatcham North East by-elections.

West Berkshire Council apologised to voters who experienced long delays at the Thatcham North East ward council by-elections on Thursday (February 24), which resulted in a double victory for the Liberal Democrats.

But earlier in the evening, there was grumbling among party representatives after some voters reportedly left early after queuing outside for nearly an hour to vote, newburytoday understands.

Returning officer Joseph Holmes acknowledged the issues at the count, but the council has since insisted voting in both by-elections was unaffected.

The reason for the delays? The district council chose to trial a new QR scanner system called Modern Polling, a digital cloud-based election software currently used by more than 50 councils. But nowhere was the use of this new system communicated ahead of the by-elections.

Its aim is to speed up the voter check-in and verification process by scanning QR codes on poll cards and ballot papers to limit the amount of paperwork, staff costs and, crucially, queuing times. Those without poll cards can be digitally checked in by confirming their name and address.

Newburytoday also understands the system – currently the only one of its kind on the market – is able to work offline and should not be affected by a weak or absent data signal.

It was developed by Modern Democracy, an information technology company registered in Northern Ireland.

A spokesperson for Modern Democracy explained the cause of the delays saying: “Following an investigation, we have identified that a system update prior to the Thatcham North East by-elections resulted in the slow running of devices at the polling stations.

“We have acted quickly to identify the cause and rectify the matter. We thank our customers for their patience and co-operation.

“We continually monitor our systems and service and will always act quickly to initiative improvements if and when these are needed.”

A spokesperson for West Berkshire Council previously commented: “We’re aware that some voters experienced delays due to complications with the QR code scanners.

“We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused and want to express our thanks to anyone who waited longer than usual to vote.

“The council decided to trial a new QR scanner system to improve the administration of the vote, which was conducted at no cost to the council.”

It admitted it experienced “some slowness” with the system during the late afternoon and early evening and said it would be communicating with the supplier to understand and prevent the same issues occurring again.

The spokesperson added: “We have heard the feedback from party representatives and voters, and our staff will consolidate all comments received to ensure we can learn from this trial.

“Despite the delays, the running of the vote was not affected as we were twin tracking with the paper system.

“Additionally, the verification process at the count was very swift, allowing us to announce the election results slightly ahead of time.”

Newburytoday has asked the council whether it plans to continue using the system.

The district by-election had a 29.1 per cent turnout with 1,679 ballot papers verified, while the town by-election had a 29.4 per cent turn out, with 1,587 ballot papers verified.

Were you affected by voting delays? Send us your views to editor@newburynews.co.uk

And just a reminder that West Berkshire Council is not holding any elections on May 1.