Sir Alistair Grahame, Chairman of the Committee on Standards in Public Life has written an article in The Times arguing that the elections in May will not be free or fair. This startling conclusion is based upon the relaxation of standards in voting and the continuous search for easier methods of voting at the expense of the integrity in the process. The Electoral Commission now wishes to spread consumer choice through internet, telephone and advance voting. This is mooted in the week that Tower Hamlets confirmed that a fifth of all postal votes were fraudulent.
My concern is that while there appears to be clear evidence that electoral fraud is a growing problem, the department, in the interests of making “voting more convenient”, is pushing ahead with pilot schemes on forms of voting that are, at present, even less secure than postal voting.
Our current systems to combat electoral abuse in Great Britain are unsatisfactory already, so to proceed with these pilots appears to be ill-timed and betrays confusion over priorities.
Free, fair and secure elections underpin the foundations of democratic society. Electoral fraud is an affront to the democratic principle of one person one vote. Left unchecked, it will eventually undermine trust and confidence in the democratic process and, by implication, the electorate’s consent to the outcome of elections. Confidence in the integrity of the process is key.
Since the problem of electoral fraud has been increasing on Labour's watch, one would assume that they would wish to maintain the integrity of the electoral process. Unless, of course, it was to their electoral advantage to promote fraud. That would be the conclusion of the conspiracist. However, there are good reasons for trying to increase voter participation. Dissolving the trust in the electoral system is unlikely to succeed since the value of a vote decreases, if it is outweighed by fraud. The Electoral Commission and its civil service cheerleaders do not understand this economic view, since they hold that voting is a choice. Make choice easier and people will vote for what is on offer.
Even if the votes are no longer free and fair, who will take advantage of this?