Election watchdog ‘sows confusion’ over family voting

LAWS preventing family members exerting pressure on relatives in polling stations could be tightened after the election watchdog was accused of sowing “confusion” over safeguards.

Ministers are examining proposals to amend the Elections Bill to make clear that relatives cannot accompany people into voting booths – and that officials can call in the police where they suspect coercion is taking place.

The move comes amid fears of a potential resurgence of “family voting” in Tower Hamlets, east London, where Lutfur Rahman, the former mayor found guilty of corruption relating to the 2014 election, is said to be planning a comeback in May’s council elections, having served a five-year ban on standing for public office.

In 2018, a report by Democracy Volunteers, which observes elections around the world, warned that “family voting” was “a specific problem, on a very large scale, in Tower Hamlets”. Staff in polling stations needed “to interrupt their own work to intercede when they see it”, the group said.

The current law, the Representation of the People Act, states that officials must “maintain and aid in maintaining the secrecy of voting”.

The commission has confirmed that this would prohibit voters being joined by relatives while casting their ballot, but some senior Tories fear the safeguard is not being used to prevent that taking place.

Metropolitan Police Service officers recently told Peter Golds, a Conservative councillor in Tower Hamlets, that the Electoral Commission advised the force that the “onus” was on those casting a vote – rather than officials – to make a complaint to the police.

The commission denied that it gave such advice, insisting that any allegations “relating to potential breaches of secrecy in the polling station” would be considered by the Met.

Lord Hayward, the Conservative election guru, who said he saw evidence of relatives trying to accompany people into voting booths during a byelection in Tower Hamlets last summer, warned that there should be no doubt about the illegality of the practice and that officials should be empowered to stop it or call in the police.

The peer has drawn up an amendment to the Elections Bill, which is due to be debated in the House of Lords later this month. Ministers are understood to have expressed an interest in the proposals.

Lord Hayward said: “I am confused as to why there should be any confusion on this matter.

“But, given there appears to be some confusion I thought it would be sensible ... to introduce an amendment that made absolutely clear that the only people who could assist an individual voter in the polling booth would be a member of the polling station staff.”

An Electoral Commission spokesman said: “[The] Electoral Commission’s existing guidance to returning officers and their staff makes clear that voters should be supported to vote in secret and free from influence.

“In addition to our guidance for electoral officials, we also have an important role in raising public awareness of the importance of keeping votes secret and secure.”

A polling station handbook produced by the Commission states that no other person should accompany a voter to a polling booth unless someone who is disabled or unable to read has requested assistance.