‘Too easy’ for students to vote twice in general election

THE UK should consider having a national list of voters to prevent anyone from voting twice, according to international observers who witnessed the June 8 general election.

They said it was currently too easy for people such as students to register to vote twice in different parts of the country.

And they said action was needed “to guarantee the right to equal suffrage” – in other words, to ensure everyone has the same number of votes.

But they said “no data is available” which would reveal how many peo- ple registered twice for June’s poll.

The warning came from observers from Commonwealth countries who were in the UK to observe the general election.

The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association sent teams to observe the election in the constituencies of Birmingham Ladywood, Darlington, East Devon, Edinburgh West, Gower, Hendon, Manchester Central and North Norfolk.

And they have now published their findings, saying: “Although no data is available on the number of persons who registered twice, such as students, the ease with which this can be done undetected given the lack of a centralised register, can place some strain on the respect of the obligation to ensure equality of the vote.”

Their report continued: “There is no single central register of voters in the United Kingdom. Voters are registered at a local level and managed by local authorities.”

It said: “Serious consideration should be given to curbing the potential, or increasing the safeguards against double registration throughout the UK, including possibly through a centralised register, to guarantee the right to equal suffrage.”

Students are allowed to register at both their university address and their home address under the present rules, but must only vote in one location.

It comes after the Electoral Commission published its own report saying it was “troubling that some voters appear to have admitted voting more than once at the general election.”

However, the Electoral Commission also said: “There is so far a lack of evidence of widespread abuse.”

Some Conservative MPs have claimed Labour’s vote in the general election may have been boosted by students voting for them twice.

Commonwealth observers also said that the secrecy of the vote was compromised in one in ten of the polling stations they observed.

They said that the way booths are designed “does not ensure sufficient privacy.”