Why isn't UK Voting anonymous?

I didn't have to do that... Handed over the voting card and got giving the voting slip ID not noted

I always believed it was annonymous, but if you want to work within certain sectors, especially within the criminal justice system, they won't hire you if you have voted BNP in the past and I'm curious as to how they would know that (not that i'd ever contemplate voting BNP...urgh i'd rather die)

less votes for the BNP!? what a terrible side-effect!!!

We're not in Africa, don't worry.

people might be afraid of their political leanings being exposed. I'm not particularly worried about that personally, but those with more extreme views (like those that vote for the BNP) might not want this known, and it undermines the absolute right to freedom of association.

It's a hell of a lot better than many other countries so live with it.

Plus it's the electoral commission who does this, not the government, so no one will be able to see your details unless the EC says they can under exceptional circumstances.

hmmmmm.... that would explain the weather.

You're right to a certain extent - the junta isn't going to come after you if you vote the wrong way (not a condescending judgement on democracy across the African continent, more a reference to non-democracies that stage elections in a number of countries across the world), but OP's point here is the important part:



Clearly election fraud has to be prevented, but the right of the individual for a truely secret vote is paramount to a functioning democracy serving the needs of its people.

Well to apply for a job within the prison service or the police, there is a pre-application questionaire were you have to say if you have voted BNP, have had any affiliation with neo-nazi organisations and if you have ever had a CCJ/been declared bankrupt etc....now I know they could easily check for former financial problems (apparently your morals could be called into character if you have money troubles and you could be more vulnerable to corruption!) but if you were to answer 'no' to the BNP question then how would they check?

Firstly, I have no choice but to "live with it" and I never suggested I'd do anything but. I was simply looking for a discussion point.

There's other various bodies in the United Kingdom who could easily force access to this information if they needed it, however.

I always believed it was annonymous, but if you want to work within certain sectors, especially within the criminal justice system, they won't hire you if you have voted BNP in the past and I'm curious as to how they would know that (not that i'd ever contemplate voting BNP...urgh i'd rather die)

but the right of the individual for a truely secret vote is paramount to a functioning democracy

It never has been and never will be.
The ability to check against fraud overrides the over sensitive reaction of libertarians. This will become even more important as we move away from personal attendance at ballot boxes and move towards electronic and postal voting.

"Hello, I'm Algernon Scroggs, your Bring Back the Poll Tax party candidate. I was just wondering whether you'd received your postal-voting form." "I don't know. Is this it?" "Yes, that's the one." "What do I do with it?" "You put a cross next to the name of your favourite candidate. If, for example, you wanted to vote for me, you'd put your cross just there. Would you like to borrow my pen?" "Like this?" "Yes, that's it. Shall I witness it for you?"

This approach has already proved to be devastatingly effective in old people's homes and sheltered housing and among those who have difficulty with English. It is not hard to see how it can influence the decisions of people who either don't understand what is happening or wish to oblige their authoritative visitor. If the candidate is already a councillor, and voters live in accommodation provided by the council, they can, if they don't understand their legal rights, be made to feel concerned about the conditions of their tenancy, without any actual threat being issued. These are among the long-established reasons for the secret ballot. The secret ballot has just been thrown to the wind.

As ruthless parties in every British constituency wake up to these opportunities, elections will come to be decided less by people's voting preferences than by the swiftness and the lack of scruples of the canvassers turning up on voters' doorsteps. The universal postal votes the government is introducing permit party activists to follow the postman down the street, then hover over voters as they fill in their forms.

Such as who?

There would be uproar if voting data was handed over to anyone other than the Police for investigations.

If we want voting fraud to be investigated, then realistically speaking, there needs to be some record of the names of people who have voted and their corresponding ballot paper numbers. The only thing I believe we can change is how this data is recorded and who has access to it. With not many people wanting to vote online or by post (like I'm doing), there's not too much that can be changed about the way this is done.