An online voting option should be piloted in the next Watford mayoral election, according to a new report ‘Viral Voting’ launched this week.

The report, by pressure group WebRoots Democracy, includes analysis of UK public opinion, and outlines the benefits, challenges, and potential impact of online voting.

It concluded that 65 per cent of the UK population are in favour of online voting and young people are particularly attracted to the potential of online voting, with the report estimating youth voter turnout could increase to 70 per cent from 44 per cent in the 2010 General Election.

The 2014 Watford mayoral election saw a turnout of 36 per cent.

Viral Voting recommends online voting to be piloted in eight mayoral elections, including Watford, and for the public to be able to vote online in the 2020 General Election.

The report also calls for online voting to be introduced in trade union strike ballots by 2016.

Report author and founder of WebRoots Democracy, Areeq Chowdhury, said: "It’s time for politics to fast-forward to the present. Mayoral elections are a great time to pilot online voting because, with areas such as Watford, social media integration with Facebook and Twitter offers real potential to help voting go viral."