A new electronic voting system caused confusion as Bath & North East Somerset Council considered amendments to its budget during a recent meeting.
The Guildhall in Bath
One councillor said she could not see the screen to vote, another screen displaying the results did not work for part of the time, and the wrong totals were read out after the vote.
Councillors were voting on an amendment to the council’s 2025/26 budget brought by the Independent group on 25th February.
The amendment was voted down by 36 votes to 15, with the Liberal Democrats all against the amendment and all other councillors voting in favour. But councillors were initially told that 15 councillors had voted against and 36 had abstained, before the figures were quickly corrected.
As the vote was underway, Councillor Eleanor Jackson (Westfield, Labour) asked the council chair: “When was there an equalities assessment of this voting system made?
“Because I can’t see the screen, I can’t distinguish the colours, and I am sure that there are many other people who have visual impairments and are disadvantaged.”
Councillor Joanna Wright (Lambridge, Green) said she had written to council chief executive Will Godfrey over the issue, but Mr Godfrey shook his head.
She said: “This is a serious matter.”
The chair of the council, Karen Walker (Peasedown St John, Independent), said the concerns would be noted.
Electronic voting was introduced to the council chamber last year, replacing the show-of-hands used for most decisions.
But this was its first major test of its use for a named vote. Votes on the council budget must be such.
This was previously done by asking each councillor in turn how they voted, but the vote is now taken electronically and the names are displayed on screens in the room and in the council minutes.
But one of the screens erected in the room was black throughout much of the vote, with the results only visible on a smaller screen in the corner.
After using the electronic voting system again for a following amendment brought by the Green group, councillors were asked: “Put your hands up if you haven’t voted but you want to.”
The Independent group’s amendment, seconded by Conservative Tim Warren (Midsomer Norton Redfield), had called on the council to make improvements to car parks in Radstock and Midsomer Norton where parking charges are set to be introduced.
The council had planned to use a “parking reinvestment fund” to introduce CCTV and street lighting to these car parks, but this has been postponed until 2026/27 to make a £210,000 budget saving for the 2025/26 budget.
Leader of the Independent group, Councillor Shaun Hughes (Midsomer Norton North) warned that the council’s own reports identified impacts on safety.
He said: “Delaying investment into a car park that now charges our residents risks harming our economy by reducing trade and discouraging footfall.”
Mr Elliott said that allocating the spending would add “unfunded risk” to the budget, but the improvements could still happen if resources were available.
The council’s budget, passed by 36 votes to eight with seven abstentions, also increases council tax by the maximum 4.99% possible as the council deals with a “significant and unpredictable” bill for social care.
John Wimperis, Local Democracy Reporter
