BLACKPOOL was one of 11 North West councils involved in groundbreaking pilot schemes aimed at increasing election turnout.
Some were all-postal schemes like Blackpool's, while others combined postal ballots with e-voting, using digital television, internet, touch telephone and text messaging.
Alongside Chester, Chorley, Vale Royal, Manchester, Bolton, Copeland, Hyndburn, Salford, St Helens and Trafford, Blackpool reported a significant increase in the number of votes returned.
In all, 59 local authorities ran electoral pilot schemes. The average 'turnout' for such schemes was just under 50 per cent according to the deputy prime minister's office -- far ahead of a turnout of 'about a third' in elections elsewhere.
Local government minister Nick Raynsford said: "The figures for all-postal ballots are particularly impressive. I'm encouraged that our pilot schemes appear to be making a real difference when it comes to engaging voters and making it more accessible for them to exert their democratic right.
He added: "It does seem that the various electoral pilot schemes could have an important role in moving the UK towards a total e-enabled general election sometime after 2006."
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