European Parliamentary and Local Elections (Pilots) Bill
5:15 pm
Lord Rennard (Liberal Democrat)
My Lords, I thank the Minister for that reply. I understand the sincerity of his argument about various measures to overcome fraud with postal voting. However, I still believe that the witness signature on the declaration of identity is a necessary weapon in the armoury against fraud at this stage, until such time as there is individual voter registration.
I understand that there may be concerns about the secrecy of the ballot. However, as the ballot paper is inserted into one envelope and can be sealed and seen by nobody else and the declaration of identity then accompanies it, there should be no problem with secrecy. I accept that there may be some problems for some people in acquiring a witness to sign that they are who they say they are. However, we are now at a point at which the all-postal pilot votes may not require that, while in any other region in England, Scotland and Wales, if one votes by post on