Ban online trolls from voting, says elections watchdog

Banning social media trolls from voting could help tackle the amount of abuse faced by politicians, the elections watchdog has said.

The Electoral Commission said legislation should be reviewed and new offences could be required to bring laws around elections up to date.

The commission said many offences under electoral law dated back to the 1800s or earlier and were spread over many pieces of legislation.

It said: “In some instances electoral law does specify offences in respect of behaviour that could also amount to an offence under the general, criminal law.”

This is because they carry special sanctions such as the person convicted losing their elected office or being disqualified from being registered as an elector, voting or standing in an election.

“It may be that similar special electoral consequences could act as a deterrent to abusive behaviour in relation to candidates and campaigners,” the commission said.

A reform of electoral legislation would help in “clarifying and strengthening” existing offences and identifying any gaps in the law, the commission said in evidence to the Committee on Standards in Public Life, which is investigating the intimidation faced by parliamentary candidates.

The commission also recommended updating electoral law to take proper account of social media posts, so people could see who is responsible for material placed online.