Westminster City Council successfully trials new Eros Polling app in live referendum
Westminster City Council successfully completed the first live local-authority trial of Idox’s Eros Polling app during the Notting Hill East Neighbourhood Planning Referendum on 29 October 2026, demonstrating its digital polling-station workflows and giving Idox valuable feedback ahead of wider availability in 2027.
The app was used in a live polling environment, giving Westminster’s electoral team practical experience of guided voter search and ID check processes, alongside real-time visibility of polling-station activity. The trial went well and the learning gathered will help inform the next stage of the product’s development.
Eros Polling is the latest addition to the Idox Eros Electoral Services suite. Designed to work seamlessly with the Eros Electoral Management System (EMS), it extends the platform into the polling station, helping electoral teams digitise election-day processes and reduce their reliance on paper, while giving Returning Officers real-time visibility of polling day operations.
The longer-term vision is to enable electoral teams to manage more polling-station processes and generate election-day documentation digitally through Eros Polling, reducing the need for paper copies at the polling station and simplifying administration for polling teams.
Key capabilities include:
- Faster voter search and ID check processes.
- Simple, guided workflows for polling station staff.
- Real-time polling station status monitoring.
- Live voter turnout and throughput dashboards.
- Election-day analytics to support future planning and resource allocation.
- A pathway towards digitally generated election-day documentation, reducing reliance on paper-based polling-station processes.
The solution has been shaped through ongoing engagement with electoral professionals and developed in response to demand for greater visibility of polling day performance, simpler processes for polling station teams and a more connected approach to election administration.
We are delighted that Westminster City Council successfully completed the first live trial of Eros Polling. This was an important milestone for the product and gave us valuable insight into how the app performed in a real polling environment.
Vinay Neogi
Head of Product Development at Idox.
Jamie Cottam-Allan, Deputy Electoral Services Manager at Westminster City Council, said:
“The Eros Polling app supported our team effectively throughout the referendum. The guided workflows were straightforward for polling station staff, while the live operational view gave us useful visibility during the day. We were pleased to be the first council to trial the solution in a live electoral event and to share feedback that will help shape its continued development.”
Vinay Neogi, Head of Product Development at Idox, said:
“We are delighted that Westminster City Council successfully completed the first live trial of Eros Polling. This was an important milestone for the product and gave us valuable insight into how the app performed in a real polling environment.
“Eros Polling was developed in response to feedback from electoral professionals who wanted simpler processes for polling station teams, greater visibility for Returning Officers and technology that connects more effectively across the election lifecycle. Our longer-term ambition is to digitise more of the polling-station workflow, including the generation of election-day documentation, helping councils reduce their reliance on paper and simplify administration for polling teams.
“Westminster’s participation and feedback will help us refine the solution as we prepare for wider availability in 2027.”
Westminster’s participation reflects Idox’s customer-led approach to product development, with councils helping to ensure new capabilities are informed by real operational requirements. The learning gathered from the referendum will now support the next stage of Eros Polling’s development and early access programme.
