UK's voting system wide open to fraud warns study

BRITAIN'S voting system is vulnerable to large-scale fraud and is being undermined by political parties' spending on marginal seats, a report warns today.

The report, by the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust, claims that measures to improve choice for voters – such as more easily available postal voting – are actually hitting the integrity of the electoral process.

Ahead of local elections in England and Wales on Thursday, the Trust is calling for radical reforms to bring the electoral system up to date.

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Its report, "Purity of Elections in the UK: Causes for Concern" says voters should be required to produce photographic ID.

It also calls for "robust" systems for monitoring postal and proxy votes.

And it says restrictions should be imposed on campaign spending by parties at constituency level.

The report says elections in the UK fall short of international standards and claims the Government has failed to improve public confidence in elections.

There have been at least 42 convictions for electoral fraud in the UK in the last seven years, and there is a "genuine risk" of electoral integrity being threatened.

This is partly because "previously robust" administration systems have now reached "breaking point".

It claims the benefits of postal and electronic voting have been "exaggerated" – particularly in relation to claims about increased turnout and social inclusion.

In terms of funding, there is "substantial evidence to suggest that money can have a powerful impact on the outcome of general elections, particularly where targeted at marginal constituencies over sustained periods of time."

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Report author Stuart Wilks-Heeg said: "It's very concerning that ministers tend to focus on 'quick fixes' to solve declining turnout and ignore genuine concerns about how easy it can be to cheat the system.

"The evidence continues to mount up and shows how we are desperately in need of an electoral system that robustly befits the 21st century, without belying our 19th century democratic roots."

The Electoral Commission said it had repeatedly called for the electoral process to be made more secure.

It said: "We continue to urge the Government to replace the current system of household registration with individual voter registration.

"That would make the electoral register – the foundation of the electoral process – safer and more accurate."

A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: "The Government is committed to ensuring that people have confidence in the electoral system.

"We have put in place a range of measures to prevent abuse of the electoral process including introducing new penalties and strengthening existing penalties, introducing additional identifier requirements for postal voting and making significant investment in supporting systems to prevent fraud.

"Election fraud is illegal, and police and electoral administrators work closely together to deal with any allegations."