Electoral fraud probe goes on
Police are continuing their enquiries into a suspected case electoral fraud involving one of the ballot boxes used by voters in Stirling constituency during last week’s General Election.
Officers are probing a case of alleged electoral fraud after a person attended one of the constituency’s 84 polling stations to be told someone using the name they gave had already voted.
Police were alerted and where present at the count in the Albert Halls, Stirling, when ballot box containing the suspicious voting paper was opened.
The ballot paper was removed for further examination. It’s thought the voting slip may have been issued to someone claiming a false identity.
A Police Scotland spokesperson said:“Police in Stirling received a report of a potential personation during the voting process for the General Election on Thursday, December 12.
“Enquiries are ongoing to establish the full circumstances of what happened.”
Personation (rather than impersonation) is a primarily-legal term, meaning to assume the identity of another person with intent to deceive.
An insider at the election count said:“Someone went into one of the polling stations and gave a name. The name was scored off the list of voters and the person was given a voting slip and proceeded to vote.“
A second person later arrived at the polling station and gave the same name. Polling station staff flagged the irregularity up to depute returning officer for the Stirling Constituency Jim Boyle.
The second person was allowed to vote, using a pink slip, and during the count both it and the ballot paper cast by the first person were retrieved.
The paper cast by the first person was taken away in a plastic bag and the second person’s vote was set aside but did not count towards the final votes tally.
A spokesperson said the Electoral Commission said they ad been alerted to the incident.