6G The Use of Interactive Services : Voting
- All votes must be treated in a fair and consistent manner, regardless of the means by which they were sent.
- It must be made clear to viewers when counts will be taken and whether or not votes after this time will (a) count and (b) be charged. Full allowance must be made for SMS latency and Red Button connection issues.
- Ample time, calculated to enable all votes to be aggregated, must be given to process all votes between the stated closing time and the announcement of the result. Provision must be made for the occurrence of technical or other problems which may render a vote incomplete, thus delaying or preventing the announcement of a result.
- The result which is announced must accurately reflect the actual proportions of votes received.
Ofcom requires all on air premium rate competitions and votes to be subject to third party verification. The system of verification is the responsibility of a broadcaster but may require some information, if requested, from a production company. Please speak with the relevant broadcaster if you have any queries relating to this.