Why should Council employees have to work late at night to count election votes? Why indeed? Why is it so important to have general election results overnight? Why indeed? Concern has been expressed recently that Council workers may deny us the excitement of overnight counts and election results, but I think this concern is misplaced.

Council employees are not the only people who can count pieces of paper and there may be people who are more experienced at the work. When I was a young bank clerk, colleagues and I were invited to count at elections and jumped at the opportunity to supplement our incomes. Now, there are many unemployed who may like the chance.

Some may suggest electronic counting – and perhaps voting - as the solution, but I would counsel caution, especially as regards electronic voting. There is a danger that accidental or deliberate mis-programming or a faulty machine could produce a wrong result. It is essential to have a robust audit trail to check the count and ensure an accurate result. Pieces of paper still provide the most reliable audit trail.

However, is it really vital to have a quick result? One of the most specious arguments I have heard against STV is that the more complicated counting process would take longer than First Past The Post. If speed is to be the only criterion, we may as well do away with elections altogether and settle for a dictatorship!

First Past The Post elections can be counted quicker than STV ones, but STV elections produce fairer results. STV elections produce more accurate results than First Past The Post ones in the sense that STV elections produce the results that voters want. First Past The Post elections usually don’t.

Accuracy and fairness are more important than speed.

I dedicate this blog to the memory of Keith Mothersson who died on 4 July 2009. He was a keen electoral reformer, Supporter of STV Action and member of the Electoral Reform Society. He took a special interest in protecting the integrity of elections under all voting systems. He was implacably opposed to electronic counting. He knew that his sincerity and enthusiasm could sometimes make him a pain in the neck to those who disagreed with him or did not completely share his views, but he and his campaigning zeal will be very much missed.