why has the UK relatively low levels of electoral fraud?

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I'm not trying to be smug here as I am fully aware that there are instances of electoral fraud in the UK but it does seem that there isn't much compared with lots of countries, the US included.

― MarkH (MarkH), Wednesday, 3 November 2004 19:59 (twenty years ago)

we were discussing it in the pub on Friday night and a friend put forward the interesting theory that it is coz much of the work of counting and running the ballot is done by volunteers.

― MarkH (MarkH), Wednesday, 3 November 2004 20:00 (twenty years ago)

(this is prolly true in many places tho)

― MarkH (MarkH), Wednesday, 3 November 2004 20:00 (twenty years ago)

Because we're so darned honest.

― Kevin Gilchrist (Mr Fusion), Wednesday, 3 November 2004 20:02 (twenty years ago)

We've had some questionable things done by candidates but I don't think voting fraud has been much of an issue in the great white north either.

― Mr Noodles (Mr Noodles), Wednesday, 3 November 2004 20:03 (twenty years ago)

in Ireland I think one thing that reduces electoral fraud is the way people compete against their own party colleagues for votes, making it harder for the party as a whole to get away with stuffing the ballots. Governments used to go in for rigging the electoral boundaries (or setting them in ways that favoured them), but this started getting stupid so they gave drawing the boundaries to an independent body. Who draws the boundaries in the UK?

― DV (dirtyvicar), Wednesday, 3 November 2004 23:53 (twenty years ago)

maybe the minor fact that you guys are a lot smaller, perhaps?

― twiki's ho and dr. theo slapping ass, Wednesday, 3 November 2004 23:58 (twenty years ago)

It's easier to keep a handful of millions in check, than three-digit millions...or something like that.

(and these problems in the US are only going to get worse as the population increases here, too)

― twiki's ho and dr. theo slapping ass, Wednesday, 3 November 2004 23:59 (twenty years ago)

Gee, think?

― Dan Quisenberry (deangulberry), Thursday, 4 November 2004 00:11 (twenty years ago)

twiki otm, i'm not sure how much of a problem vermont has with voter fraud for example

― cinniblount (James Blount), Thursday, 4 November 2004 00:12 (twenty years ago)

Why do Americans always go on about how much smaller European countries are - Britain has one fifth the population of the US. It's smaller, certainly, but not so much that it makes a huge difference. Geographical size might make a difference, but the US needs to stop using it's size as an excuse to deny itself things it needs.

― Kevin Gilchrist (Mr Fusion), Thursday, 4 November 2004 00:15 (twenty years ago)

Someone called in to Howard Stern saying she used to work the polls in elections past. She and her friends would wait till closing, and fill in their candidate for everyone who hadn't showed up that day and who was a registered voter. She was voting for Kerry this year, too.

― Richard K (Richard K), Thursday, 4 November 2004 00:21 (twenty years ago)

Why do Americans always go on about how much smaller European countries are - Britain has one fifth the population of the US

Agreed. The US managed to fuck up Florida in 2000 which had one quarter of the population of the UK.

Maybe we there are less opportunities to get counts wrong in the UK because ballot papers are readable, easy to use documents unlike some of the pisspoor examples I've seen from US states. We don't have to punch holes in the dot nearest to where we think our candidate of choice's name is supposed to be.

We do have our share of dodgy practices, there have been allegations of false vote registration where a huge bunch of people who've never voted all suddenly register at the same time then vote for the same candidate (Mohammed Al S@war was accused of this in Govan, can't remember the outcome. I think possibly S1nn Fe1n in NI as well).

The boundaries thing used to be funny, they'd draw crazy spider shapes between all the more affluent villages in the West of Scotland to attempt to link enough Tories together to get a single seat.

The worst thing about the UK system is that we have no party worth voting for.

― Onimo (GerryNemo), Thursday, 4 November 2004 00:28 (twenty years ago)

We've had some questionable things done by candidates but I don't think voting fraud has been much of an issue in the great white north either.

Ahem. The Libs in Vancouver are always getting raked over the coals for supposedly doing that whole false voter registration thing, particularly in the Indo-Canadian community. Can't remember how that turned out, though.

Also, in the federal election, the sudden evaporation of the NDP's projected seat tally to exactly one seat short of the keymaster role in the minority government was quite suspicious, no?

― John Eh MacDonald, Thursday, 4 November 2004 00:44 (twenty years ago)

Who draws the boundaries in the UK?

There are four Boundary Commissions, one each for England, Scotland, Wales and NI.

― caitlin (caitlin), Thursday, 4 November 2004 08:22 (twenty years ago)

The biggest advantage the UK has is a proudly apolitical civil service (despite what the current labour government has tried to do). We have officials who take pride in being fair.

― Ed (dali), Thursday, 4 November 2004 08:25 (twenty years ago)

We've had some questionable things done by candidates but I don't think voting fraud has been much of an issue in the great white north either.

-- Mr Noodles (infinitecow...), November 3rd, 2004.

What about all that business concerning the big postal voting scam up North in the local elections last May?

― Marcello Carlin, Thursday, 4 November 2004 08:37 (twenty years ago)

That was ibteresting and a big argument for keep our very plain boring old system of x's in boxes in very local polling station the country over. The reason our system works is that there are so many people who would call foul play if it didn't there's a really good argument for keeping it simple.

― Ed (dali), Thursday, 4 November 2004 10:50 (twenty years ago)

But there's tons of fraud! Apparently! Or at least the Brixton, Streatham and Norwood Guardian is always going on about election fraud. Apparently they steal postal ballots and the like.

― Two-Headed Zombie With No Face (kate), Thursday, 4 November 2004 11:44 (twenty years ago)

it may well have something to do with their being more at stake. fraud in the uk can lead to a won or lost seat whereas fraud in the US can lead to a won or lost STATE because of that ridiculous systrem whereby all the seats for a state won go to one party even if the margin is very narrow.

― jed_ (jed), Thursday, 4 November 2004 13:34 (twenty years ago)

Considerably smaller constituencises and electorates?

― Dadaismus (Dada), Thursday, 4 November 2004 13:36 (twenty years ago)

Or it could be that every little instance of it doesn't get reported, like it does in the US. Not only does it get reported here, but it's front page news for weeks, until the next middle class midlife crisis guy kills his wife.

Which news coverage is worse, UK, where nothing of substance gets reported ad nauseum, or US, where everything of no substance gets reported ad nauseum ?

― dave225 (Dave225), Thursday, 4 November 2004 13:38 (twenty years ago)

I was quite surprised to hear Dee turned up at her local polling station her offer to help people cast their votes using the computers was accepted. Am I right in thinking there is no way a member of the public would be allowed to do that here?

(nb. this isn't a dig at Dee, who I'm sure is completely honest and trustworthy)

― Madchen (Madchen), Thursday, 4 November 2004 13:46 (twenty years ago)

What is the point of these computerised voting machines? Its electoral fannydangle of the highest order. I fail to see what's wrong with a good old cross in a box (and the margin for fraud and fuckups is a lot smaller).

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Thursday, 4 November 2004 13:57 (twenty years ago)

computerised voting machines = computerised counting

― koogs (koogs), Thursday, 4 November 2004 14:07 (twenty years ago)

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