THE Government has published plans for the radical reform of the voting system in an attempt to encourage more people out to vote, writes Catherine MacLeod.

Mr George Howarth, the junior Home Office Minister outlining the final proposals of a cross party committee, confirmed that the traditional Thursday voting was likely to be replaced by weekend voting, voting on more than one day, and even voting on the Internet.

He said: ''Our work has led us firmly to conclude that practices which were laid down at the end of the nineteenth century are in need of urgent reform if they are to retain credibility as we move into the twenty-first century.''

Other ideas include mobile polling stations which would travel to residential care homes, and ballots held exclusively by post. Polling stations could even be replaced with automated voting equipment or on-line voting held via the Internet. He called for pilot schemes to be set up to explore the different options.

Mr Howarth hoped the proposals would make it easier for homeless people and patients in psychiatric hospitals to vote. Currently, the mentally ill are prevented from using hospitals as an address for registration. Homeless people would be able to register to vote simply by declaring the area in which they live.