CREWE and Nantwich councillors have been invited to talks with the Home Office to decide on ways to encourage voting at local elections.

The council expressed concerns over the low turn-out of less-than 25 per cent at the last local elections in May and had offered its services as a guinea pig for new ballot-box experiments.

A meeting between the Home Office, the Local Government Association and other "guinea pig" councils will be held in London in early November.

Early proposals include electronic voting, voting on different days, carrying out entire elections by post and having polling stations in supermarkets.

Councillor Howard Curran, chairman of the council's Civic Affairs Committee, said: "The right to vote is so valuable. Unfortunately, voting arrangements in this country have changed little in nearly 100 years and it's important that we move with the times.

"We in Crewe and Nantwich support fully any proposals which will encourage more people to turn out to vote."

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