Inquiry · Opened 29 January 2025
The committee welcomes responses from anyone with answers to the questions in the call for evidence.
When a division is called in the House of Commons, Members present on the Estate who wish to cast a vote must then proceed to the division lobbies located adjacent to the Chamber to do so. During the Covid-19 pandemic, due to social distancing requirements, Members were able to vote electronically in some divisions in the House (then known as ‘remote voting’), but these arrangements lapsed in mid-2021 alongside other pandemic-era procedures. Several other legislatures around the world – including the House of Lords – currently operate some form of electronic voting arrangements, therefore providing different models that could be compared to those in the House of Commons which require a physical presence in a certain location for a valid vote to be cast.
The Committee seeks written submissions addressing any of the following questions:
What are the differences between in person voting in the division lobbies and options for voting elsewhere, either on the Estate or more remotely?
What are the potential perceptual risks with the current voting system and any potential electronic voting system? How does this interact with the principle that it is and should be only MPs that are able to vote in divisions in the House of Commons?
Would electronic voting, or the introduction of technology into the divisions process more broadly, impact on other House of Commons practices and procedures and, if so, how?
What impact would the introduction of electronic voting have on the House Administration in terms of resourcing?
What impact do the current arrangements for divisions have on Members with protected characteristics and what would be the impacts of introducing electronic voting on such Members?
What security concerns are there about electronic voting and what measures could be put in place to mitigate against those concerns?
What lessons can be learned from other legislatures which operate electronic voting systems?
What lessons were learned from similar temporary arrangements that were implemented during the Covid-19 pandemic in the House of Commons?
Please read this section before making a submission. This information is particularly important for people making written submissions in an individual capacity, and about their own lived experience.
Written evidence must address the terms of reference as set out above, but please note that submissions do not have to address every point. Guidance on giving evidence to a select committee of the House of Commons is available here.
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If you wish to submit evidence to this inquiry, please do it via the evidence portal, you are also welcome to contact the Committee team via email (proccom@parliament.uk) to discuss the options for contributing your views.
When a division is called in the House of Commons, Members present on the Estate who wish to cast a vote must then proceed to the division lobbies located adjacent to the Chamber to do so. During the Covid-19 pandemic, due to social distancing requirements, Members were able to vote electronically in some divisions in the House (then known as ‘remote voting’), but these arrangements lapsed in mid-2021 alongside other pandemic-era procedures. Several other legislatures around the world – including the House of Lords – currently operate some form of electronic voting arrangements, therefore providing different models that could be compared to those in the House of Commons which require a physical presence in a certain location for a valid vote to be cast.
This inquiry will look at the pros and cons of the current operation of divisions in the House of Commons and the potential merits and pitfalls of introducing electronic voting arrangement for divisions in the House.
Evidence goes to the committee through Parliament’s own form. There is no way to submit it from here: Parliament publishes no API for written evidence, so the button above opens the committee’s page.
What you send is published under your name and can be quoted in the committee’s report. Keep it under 3,000 words, send it as a document rather than a letter in the body of an email, and answer the questions above rather than writing generally.
The committee’s own address is proccom@parliament.uk, for a question about the inquiry or trouble with the form.
Open the inquiry on committees.parliament.uk