Mary Reid

It took about a minute - less than the time it would take me to walk to the postbox.

I was pleasantly surprised when the Register of Electors 2009 form arrived today and I saw that I could do my registration online. There is also a 24 hours freephone number I could use instead. I could even send a text, but that will get charged at the standard rate.

All these methods allow me to apply for a postal vote, or to exempt myself from the public register, as well as simply confirm the names of the voters at my home.

In fact, I only need to use post if I want to make some specific changes, such as adding a new person to the household.

I've been going on for long enough about the benefits of online transactions in local government. As a local resident I really value the facility to do business with the Council 24/7; as a councillor I know that the cost per transaction is far less when using automated methods, so this is saving public money.

Of course, not everyone wants, or is able, to use the Internet. The key thing is to open up as many channels of communication as possible, and to encourage everyone to use the method that is most convenient for them.

The online registration system has been developed by Electoral Reform Services, which is the commercial arm of the Electoral Reform Society.  The ERS is the highly respected independent organisation that, in its Society version, campaigns for fair and inclusive elections and, in its Services version, conducts ballots and elections for all kinds of bodies, including large corporations, trade unions and political parties.

So many major Government IT projects have failed disastrously. They tend to be huge undertakings, and are often launched with a major switchover, followed by a widespread demonstration of all the bugs.

The ones that succeed are those that build from relatively small beginnings and are proved sound at every stage, such as online petitions which were pioneered in local government by Kingston.

And when the supplier is a tried and tested organisation that has been working in the field for over 100 years then you can be pretty sure that the system will work. And, indeed, while I have been writing this an email has arrived from ERS confirming my registration.