Postal voting: Do we really get a private vote?

It was actually my dad who pointed this out to me:

In my area it is postal voting only for the June 10 elections on Europe. Your name and vote go into an envelope.... does this not break our right to an anonymous vote?

debate..............

Reply 1

PQ

PS Reviewer

21

_james

It was actually my dad who pointed this out to me:

In my area it is postal voting only for the June 10 elections on Europe. Your name and vote go into an envelope.... does this not break our right to an anonymous vote?

debate..............

Your name (or your electoral role number) and vote are on the ballot paper when you vote at a polling station

Reply 2

zizero

1

_james

It was actually my dad who pointed this out to me:

In my area it is postal voting only for the June 10 elections on Europe. Your name and vote go into an envelope.... does this not break our right to an anonymous vote?

debate..............

In my country (Luxembourg), you can opt for postal voting (for the EU elections inter alia) if you want.

You fill in your ballot paper (anonymous) and you put it into an unnamed envelope. Then, you put that envelope into another envelope, where you name is and the address of the voting station your ballot is being sent to.

On the actual election day, all the big envelopes will be opened, and then the small envelopes (containing the ballot papers) will be put into a ballot box (or something similar).

Hence, anonimity is guaranteed (quite simple really).

Reply 3

_james

OP

when you go into a polling station they tick you off to show you have used your vote, then you get a piece of paper to put your X on, then you put that in the ballot box. that doesnt have your name or number on it.

when you send in your envelope there is no guarantee that they arent going to look at your name and vote.

Reply 4

benm

Thats not the only problem with postal voting...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_midlands/3728501.stm

Detectives are investigating a suspected fraud in next month's local election after 16 postal vote forms were sent to an address in Birmingham.
The Elections Office was alerted after multiple requests for voting forms were received and sent to Sparkhill.

Don't be so naive to think that the government care about democratic values such as anonymous voting. They will do whatever is neccessary to remain in power.

http://www.theasiannews.co.uk/news/index/1047.html

Postal ballot could block Griffin
First published: 02 Feb 2004
THE post box is being substituted for the ballot box in a bid to block the political advance of the extreme-right wing racist parties in the north west.
..............
Originally two other regions had been recommended by an electoral commission for the pilot but the north west has been chosen instead.
One reason behind the change is thought to be pressure from local political leaders who are fearful that British National Party chief Nick Griffin might succeed in becoming a Euro-MP in the elections.

Democracy?

_james

when you go into a polling station they tick you off to show you have used your vote, then you get a piece of paper to put your X on, then you put that in the ballot box. that doesnt have your name or number on it.

when you send in your envelope there is no guarantee that they arent going to look at your name and vote.

However, there are also procedures in place designed to ensure that
ballot papers can be linked to individual voters after the election where fraud is alleged. Ballot papers are printed in books and both the ballot papers and the counterfoils are numbered. This means that allegations of fraud can be checked by matching the suspicious ballot paper with the counterfoil, on which the clerk in the polling station will have written the voter number as recorded on the electoral register.

http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/files/dms/Ballotsecrecy_12370-6127__E__N__S__W__.pdf

Reply 6

samd

10

Interesting.

The secret bit just means that no one else finds out about your choice.

Postal voting: Do we really get a private vote?

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