Northumberland County Council selects mkodo for SMS Elections
October 2006: mkodo, the mobile services specialist, is delighted to announce the selection of its Intelligent Mobile Platform (IMP) to power the SMS vote in Northumberland County Council's first elections for a Young Leader.
In a move to make the voting mechanic more convenient and attractive to young people, the council will launch SMS voting.
The voting will take place from 2nd to11th October 2006 with 4 candidates standing. All voters will be given the opportunity to opt in to receive future mobile communications and the opportunity to "have their say" about the County's services.
Integrity of the vote is an essential requirement for this project. The mkodo IMP ensures that the voting rules are correctly implemented and that the data is kept secure. Each candidate, for example, can only receive one vote per mobile phone; this is handled within the IMP business logic.
The user friendly web interface allows the Council to monitor the election results in real time.
Sue Parker, executive director, mkodo commented: "The forward thinking approach of Northumberland County Council is encouraging and we are looking forward to working with them on this project. The mobile channel appeals to a younger demographic and offers a convenient means of voting. We anticipate a higher number of voters over those forecast from traditional means."
June Moore, Marketing and Engagement Manager, Northumberland County Council commented: "Using the mkodo off-the-shelf IMP package we have implemented the SMS vote quickly and efficiently. The IMP's extensive capabilities mean that we can then use same package to run an ongoing consultation process with young people via the mobile channel"
