POLICE CALLED IN OVER BY-ELECTION
Allegation votes cast in names of people not in country at time of poll:
POLICE are investigating allegations of voter impersonation at a council by-election.
Stoke-on-trent City Council has referred the claims relating to last month’s Moorcroft by-election to Staffordshire Police. It is understood the allegations partly relate to votes being cast in the name of individuals who may have been out of the country at the time of the poll.
Although people can register for a proxy vote and have someone vote in their place if they are unable to get to a polling station, ‘personation’ fraud – where an individual claims to be someone else in order to use their vote – is a serious offence.
The by-election, held on May 6, ended in a shock Conservative win in a seat previously always held by Labour. Conservative Tariq Mahmood narrowly defeated Labour’s Javid Najmi by 769 votes to 702, on a 39.4 per cent turnout.
Staffordshire Police confirmed they are investigating. A spokeman said: “We have received an allegation under the Representation of the People Act and we are working with Stoke-on-trent City Council to investigate.”
Stoke-on-trent returning officer Jon Rouse, who is also city director at the council, said: “We are aware of the allegations as we received and referred them to the police. We are currently assisting Staffordshire Police with their inquiries and it would not be appropriate to comment further at this time.”
Reports by the Electoral Commission show in-person voter fraud is very rare in the UK. In 2019, there was just one conviction and one caution for voter impersonation across the whole country.
The Government is planning to introduce new rules requiring voters to show identification at polling stations – although opponents say such a move could disenfranchise people without ID.
Councillor Jane Ashworth, leader of the council’s Labour group, welcomed the police investigation.
She said: “This is an extremely important investigation. The idea that people might be tampering with our democracy through the absent voter system (postal and proxy votes) and through personation is shocking and outrageous. I trust every decent person in Moorcroft will go out of their way to help the police.”
A spokesman for the local Conservative Party said: “If contacted by the relevant authorities, we would be happy to assist any inquiry into the Moorcroft byelection.”