The Government has pulled the pin on a trial of online voting in this year's local body elections, saying it could not guarantee the security of the system in time.
Internal Affairs Minister Louise Upston announced the plan for some councils to trial online voting would not go ahead because time was running out for councils to prove voting system addressed concerns about security and vote integrity.
"Due to timing restrictions, preparations for the proposed trial have not yet met the legislative requirements and cannot guarantee public confidence in the election results." She said security testing was planned but had not yet taken place. "Without seeing the results of testing we cannot be confident the systems are secure enough and the trial could not be authorised."
Eight councils were interested in trialling online voting -- Selwyn, Wellington, Porirua, Masterton, Rotorua, Matamata-Piako, Palmerston North and Whanganui.
Ms Upston said those councils which had signed up for the trial would be disappointed. However, the time pressures involved would increase the risks of any trial. "Maintaining public confidence and understanding of local electoral processes is more important than trialling online voting this year."