U.K. government: no imminent plans to move to e-voting

Here in the U.S., electronic voting machines -- which are verbally bashed by critics and praised by supporters -- have been commonly used for more than a decade, but they are still being eyed warily across the pond.

In a story posted online today by Silicon.com, a CBS Interactive Web site in the U.K., Michael Wills, a member of the British Parliament and the minister of state for the Ministry of Justice, wrote a letter to his fellow members saying that e-voting was not something being considered at the moment.

"The government do not plan to introduce e-voting for the 2009 European or local elections," Wills' letter said, according to Silicon.com.

Concerns about the fledgling technology were heard from some government officials after a trial of e-voting in a few elections last year, the article said.

That could change in the future as the technology and its security and reliability mature, Wills said in his letter to Parliament.

"The way forward more generally on e-voting will be informed by the valuable experience gained from earlier pilots, analysis of the responses to the election day consultation, and further development work including the possible further testing of e-voting solutions in non-statutory elections," he wrote.

Last year, Britain's Electoral Commission recommended that more studies be done before moving to e-voting systems, according to Silicon.com.