New Voting Safeguards Welcome But Not Sufficient
May 13, 2005 2:12 PM
Shepway Liberal Democrats have welcomed new safeguards to postal voting, but have echoed concerns made by Liberal Democrat Chief Executive Lord Rennard that postal voting problems are widespread and need addressing.
Locally, there were serious issues with the postal voting system in the recent elections, with many ballot papers having to be reissued following an administrative error which seriously delayed the dispatch of ballot papers, and led to a number of people being unable to vote.
Nationally, it is reported that a new offence of fraudulently applying for a postal vote will be included in next week's Queen's Speech. Lord Rennard commented:
"Many problems with the postal voting system may still remain, including the fact that many people will have to vote before they are in full possession of the facts that emerge in the last week of the campaign.
"The problem of fraud will not necessarily be dealt with by tougher penalties because it may remain difficult to detect fraud occurring.
"New safeguards are welcome but not sufficient. The time has come to consider alternatives to boost turnout, such as weekend voting."
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