‘Show your ID before you vote’ – Electoral Commission
Electors should have to prove who they are before allowed to vote at a polling station, the UK elections watchdog says.
The Electoral Commission wants voters to show proof of identity in an attempt to stamp out ballot rigging and restore trust in the voting system.
It has launched a study into concerns that some South Asian communities, notably those with roots in parts of Pakistan and Bangladesh, are particularly susceptible to electoral fraud.
Sixteen local authority areas in England have been identified as being at greater risk of complaints of alleged vote rigging being reported.
It is not acceptable to explain or excuse electoral fraud on the basis of actual or perceived differences in cultural approaches to democratic participation. Electoral Commission
The commission said it was essential that electoral registration officers, returning officers and police forces in those areas put in place measures to protect the integrity of the vote before the next set of local and European elections in May.
At-risk areas
The at-risk areas include Birmingham, the scene of a notorious ballot-rigging case in 2004 which the presiding judge said would “disgrace a banana republic”.
Others on the list are Blackburn with Darwen, Bradford, Burnley, Calderdale, Coventry, Derby, Hyndburn, Kirklees, Oldham, Pendle, Peterborough, Slough, Tower Hamlets, Walsall, and Woking.
The commission has rejected calls to restrict access to postal voting, which has been at the centre of many of the allegations of ballot rigging, saying it would prevent many innocent people from casting their vote.
But it said the existing code of conduct needed to be strengthened to ensure campaigners do not handle postal votes or voting application forms and warned that it would seek legislation if the problem was not resolved voluntarily.
It also called for legislation to be in place by 2019 at the latest requiring voters in England, Scotland and Wales to produce proof of identity before they are issued with a ballot paper at a polling station, bringing them in line with Northern Ireland.
Overall, the commission found that electoral fraud was not widespread and was unlikely to have been attempted in more than a “handful” of wards in any particular local authority area.
It also said that would be a “mistake” to suggest that it was confined to certain South Asian communities, with people from white British and other European backgrounds also involved.
‘Significant questions’
But the commission said that it was concerned about the extent to which ballot-rigging “affects or originates from within specific communities”, adding: “The evidence and views we have heard raise significant questions about whether individuals within these communities are able effectively to exercise their right to vote, and whether they are able to participate in elections on the same basis as other electors across the UK.
“All electors should be free to cast their votes in the way they wish. It is not acceptable to explain or excuse electoral fraud on the basis of actual or perceived differences in cultural approaches to democratic participation.
“We have begun further work to identify relevant evidence in order to help address concerns about the vulnerability of some South Asian communities, specifically those with roots in parts of Pakistan or Bangladesh, to electoral fraud.”
Electoral Commission chair Jenny Watson said: “Proven cases of electoral fraud are rare and when it is committed, the perpetrators tend to be candidates or their supporters.
“Voters are the victims and sustained action is needed now to prevent fraud from taking place. Although the introduction of individual electoral registration this year will tighten up the registration system more can and should be done.”
‘No room for complacency’
A Cabinet Office spokesman said: “We will consider the recommendations in this report carefully and respond in due course. We welcome the Electoral Commission’s finding that there is no widespread electoral fraud, but there is no room for complacency.
“That’s why we are ending the outdated system of household registration and introducing individual electoral registration. By requiring identification information such as date of birth and national insurance number, we can verify that everyone on the register is who they say they are.
“We are also legislating to require 100 per cent of postal vote identifiers to be checked in UK polls, rather than a minimum of 20 per cent, and to enable police community support officers to enter polling stations and count venues, which will further safeguard against electoral fraud.”