Poll: New measures to combat fraud fears

New measures to crack down on postal vote fraud have been outlined by Lord Falconer.

Fraudulently applying for a postal vote is now likely to become a specific criminal offence.

And voters may also be required to give their signatures and dates of birth on electoral registration forms so that postal votes can be verified.

But the constitutional affairs secretary said the idea of introducing individual registration forms for every voter could lead to a sharp fall in the number of people on the electoral roll.

He pointed out that the introduction of individual registration in Northern Ireland led to a 10 per cent reduction in the number of people registered to vote.

"There has got to be a balance struck between access to voting on the one hand and adequate security on the other," he said.

Next Tuesday's Queen's Speech will promise an Electoral Administration Bill to tighten up the law following widespread concerns about postal voting in the run-up to the general election.

However, Lord Falconer denied that measures to combat postal vote fraud should have been taken before now, saying he didn't think it would have been sensible to try to do something before Thursday's poll.

The new offence of fraudulently applying for a postal vote could carry up to five years' imprisonment.

At present, it is not an electoral offence to apply for a fraudulent vote - it only becomes an offence when the ballot is cast.

"What we are trying to do is recognise that postal voting is something that starts earlier, and so try to make it a criminal offence at a much earlier time," Lord Falconer said.

Ministers are also considering a ban on political parties and community leaders gathering postal vote application forms, with the forms being sent to a central point instead.

Other measures could include replacing serial numbers on ballot papers with bar codes so that fraudulent votes can be identified and removed, and introducing watermarked or security-printed ballot papers.

Oliver Heald, shadow constitutional affairs secretary, said it is vital that legislation is passed this year to restore confidence in Britain’s electoral system.

But he suggested any reforms must include introducing a system of individual electoral registration, through the use of national insurance numbers as in operation in Northern Ireland.

Pushing the case for individual registration, Heald said the government’s plans would be "tinkering at the margins – too little, too late, and will threaten more postal fraud in next year’s extensive set of local elections".

And Liberal Democrat chief executive Lord Rennard responded to the announcement by saying many problems with the postal voting system could still remain.

"The problem of fraud will not necessarily be dealt with by tougher penalties because it may remain difficult to detect fraud occurring," he said.

"New safeguards are welcome but not sufficient. The time has come to consider alternatives to boost turnout, such as weekend voting."