New Clause 4 Extra provision for collection of postal votes
Electoral Administration Bill
12:30 pm
Harriet Harman (Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs; Camberwell and Peckham, Labour)
The amendment would insert a clause into the Bill that would oblige electoral registration officers to provide a ballot box for postal voters to deposit their ballot papers in advance of, or on, polling day.
I appreciate that the hon. Lady’s intention is to provide a safeguard against electoral fraud or to reassure people who are worried about it, even when that is not the reality. The concerns in the media about electoral fraud have undermined some people’s confidence and many postal voters deliver their ballot papers by hand to the relevant electoral registration officer or to the polling station on polling day. However, some attempt to do so when electoral staff are not in the office, which can result in completed ballot papers being handed to staff members who are not trained to deal with them. That creates an opportunity for electoral fraud or for the completed votes to be mislaid and not passed on to the electoral registration officer, causing the elector to be disfranchised.
However, secure systems have been established between the postal service and the electoral services officer to enable postal ballots to be returned through the postal service. It is still best for somebody who has a postal vote to post it.
I acknowledge the concerns of the hon. Member for Epping Forest, but I do not believe that legislation is necessary in this instance. Electoral registration officers and returning officers are responsible for the organisation and running of elections, and it is clearly best practice to provide the service that she has described. I am informed that the measure advocated in the amendment is already adopted by many EROs, and regulations already enable voters to hand in their completed postal ballot papers at their polling stations on polling day.
The idea of having a central place where they could put their postal vote in a ballot box might—I hesitate to say this—have to be subject to good practice guidelines from the Electoral Commission. First, we should see how many people want to do that, how big the problem is and whether the matter can be dealt with by light-touch encouragement rather than the full force of good practice guidance. The hon. Lady is right that the point should be drawn to the attention of the Committee, the EROs and the Electoral Commission.