ELECTION fever is upon us again today (Thursday) with all the main parties and candidates vying for political control of Preston.

Yet, the turn-out for local elections across the country has always been traditionally low with usually a third, or less, of the electorate bothering to vote.

So, is it apathy on the part of the Preston and South Ribble electorate or a stuffy, out-of-date voting system not yet attuned to the pace of modern 21st Century life?

With central government trying to push through ideas such as electronic voting and out-of-hours polling stations, is this the best way forward or are voters bombarded with far too many elections. Leader of Preston Borough Council, councillor Peter Rankin, who is standing down from his post as from today, says it's very important for all of the electorate to have their say -- but equally important to review and scrutinise current voting systems and procedures.

He said: "I think it's very important for local democracy that people make their voices heard, very loud and clear.

"Preston council controls services which are very important to the community, such as refuse collection, road safety and the state of highways.

"People at election time have the opportunity to say whether they approve or disapprove of the way the council run these services."

Responding to the claims that there needs a review of current voting systems, Coun Rankin added: "I am quite sure the system needs a review. It's practically nonsense that voters in this day and age have to turn up at a certain place at a certain time to vote.

"Yet, having said that, a review by central government is certainly on the way, there's no question of that. Electronic voting, for example, could change the face of how and where we vote."