  This article concerns the computational problem of counting the lattice
points inside convex polytopes, when each point must be counted with a weight
associated to it. We describe an efficient algorithm for computing the highest
degree coefficients of the weighted Ehrhart quasi-polynomial for a rational
simple polytope in varying dimension, when the weights of the lattice points
are given by a polynomial function h. Our technique is based on a refinement of
an algorithm of A. Barvinok [Computing the Ehrhart quasi-polynomial of a
rational simplex, Math. Comp. 75 (2006), pp. 1449--1466] in the unweighted case
(i.e., h = 1). In contrast to Barvinok's method, our method is local, obtains
an approximation on the level of generating functions, handles the general
weighted case, and provides the coefficients in closed form as step polynomials
of the dilation. To demonstrate the practicality of our approach we report on
computational experiments which show even our simple implementation can compete
with state of the art software.
