h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Here's one for you all...

I'm mildly surprised more isn't being made of this report

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4410743.stm

To lift a couple of quotes...

"systematic large-scale vote rigging"

"Labour Party supporters were said to have intimidated voters into voting their way and stood over them while they filled in their ballots."



I'd have thought this would have been a free gift to certain politicians to increase public distrust in the government (who seem to like the system as it stands). Why isn't this being shouted from the rooftops?

It has been mentioned on the news several times - but I'm local to it.

I expect it'll come to the fore before long.

Why isn't it being shouted from the rooftops?does no one care about electoral fraud that would disgrace a banana republic.It certainly scares me that the population has become so complacent to such an issue

You shouldn't be surprised. On the western shores of the Atlantic, the US gov. has used fear of terrorists to suspend rights and the populace just goes along merrily. Most people figure they have more important things in their lives than to worry which idiot runs the show. I imagine the same is true in the UK. One way or another it doesn't matter which party controls the govt.-- a good (perhaps majority) of the governed won't have voted for that party, but will have to live with the results. Canada is ruled by a minirity govt., but even before, the Liberals still pulled in less than 50% of the popular vote. It just seems natural that apathy about elections would occur. What surprises me, is the number of people who actually do vote. You'd think that no one would care. I mean, really, when was the last time that any politician made a great and lasting difference to anyone? I would guess not since WWII, or very shortly after that. It should scare you that the population has become complacent about issues like voter fraud, but in the end, what can they do. The guys at the top call an inquiry that goes on seemingly forever, and when the inquiry releases its "final report", it gets whitewashed and then everyone goes "oh well" and that's that, until next time. C'est la guerre!

>>Why isn't this being shouted from the rooftops?<<

I imagine it would have been, but for

a)The death of The Pope
b)The funeral of The Pope
c)The Royal Wedding
d)The delayed announcment concerning the dissoloution of Parliament

All of which rather put everything out of synch and will continue to do so for the next foreseable few days.

I suppose that there are still a lot of people that care enough to go out and vote even though very little is changed by it,but what shocks me is the amount that don't vote(especially women),we should not take for granted our right to vote.I remember watching the footage of the black South Africans who walked for miles and queued for hours to vote because at last they had a right to.Yet the turn out of voters in the UK seems to depend on whether it rains and how many people that just cannot be bothered.In some countries you are fined if you don't vote perhaps we should introduce that here and use the money collected to campaign for greater political awareness?

*another tax?*

I agree voting is an underappreciated privlege not to be wasted, for whom countless numbers have died and are willing to risk death to have.

It is not something to be discarded frivilously. That said, abstainingfrom voting is a valid political action if you feel that your vote is best not spent on parties with whom you do not agree. (I personally think all politicians should have to compete against RON.
Re-Open Nominations, that'd put the cat amongst the pigeons. )

Do you think it was a deliberate ploy to release or should I say bury the electoral fraud in the news of the royal wedding,the death of the Pope and the funeral of the Pope.Should I have more faith in human nature or am I right to be that cynical...

If they were to compete against RON (a devious and cunning idea to put the cat amongst the pigeons)then we might get some politicians who have some new ideas for real political change ,another idealistic dream but a good one for the greater good perhaps.

I think in this election, moreso than certainly the last two (covering the period during which I've been able to vote and hence most politically aware), there is a real sense that the way in which we vote, and as a result who gets in, will* make a real difference. Labour seem to be all for flogging the pretence that we are all as individuals about to be vicsiously attacked by forign folk at any moment and screwing up the democratic system and freedom of the society of the UK under this pretence, whilst the other two main contendors, to greater or lesser extents at least claim* not to be for such drachonican resonpse to a fictious threat...

and in relation to postal voting, it did get a fair* bit of coverage on radio four but I think the Pope poppin off to meet his maker and the wedding of those two bods with the 'offical' anncoucnement of the election (as metnioned above) probably went a long way to pull it off the top stop on the news as an asides I'd never consider postal voting myself as I' know how c**p the postal system is, when they can't diliver recorded mail without loosing it (in this area), I really wouln'd t want to trust my vote to their incompetant hands.

I *like* walking to the ballot box. It is about choice, I would never want to vote by text or touchscreen. The security of the paper ballot means a lot to me - as any student of the florida election ought to know.

I think enforced postal voting is a terrible idea

Compulsory voting however might have its place as it does in Australia for instance, but I am far from conviced it would work if introduced here.

So until then, all methods for upping accessability to democracy (for that is what voting for a parliament in a representative democracy such as ours entails) ought to be encouraged. That said, any system which permits wanton abuses such as fraud or rigging the vote is unrecognisable in this context so the current system of postal ballots (or hanging chads for that matter) fail too.

Of course, even though I'm against postal voting because of the inheriant dangers, it'd be more likely for me to vote if I used it, as I have no idea wher ethe poliging station is here, much less the ability to be able to get myself to it, I just hope this time they'l be someone about to get me along.

There is a sense of security that comes from putting your vote in the ballot box yourself but in todays world of technilogical advances surely there should be a fair and reliable alternative way to vote.Although 2legs is right about the postal service ,I experienced lost mail.Accessability to democracy should be promoted.

The Uk simply does not have the printing and distribution capacity for all-postal voting, as last year's pilots proved. E-voting and telephone voting are possible for the future, but unlikely to become universal. There are, hard though it may be to believe, still people in the UK who do not have a telephone of any sort, let alone internet access.

Under normal circumstances, the "banana republic" conclusion would have been the top story that day, and I don't think it was deliberately buried - the trial was scheduled to end at a fairly quiet news time and the matches and dispatches stories got in the way.

Mol

Actually if we ahd a set term we could manage as we could then alter dates for close of nominations etc. to allow more time at printers. It is because the decision of when to go is in the gift of the Queen at the behest of the PM that this is an impossibility at present.

maybe it wasn't deliberately buried in the news and you are right about not everyone having access to e-mail and phone voting.But is postal voting ever going to be a reliable method of voting?It just seems like it will always be open to fraud or manipulation by lost ballot papers.The decision on when to go and vote does not allow much time but being cynical again is that deliberate?

But DD, the print capacity problem isn't for ballot papers - the same number of those has to be printed regardless, one per elector (give or take - you know how it works). It's the Declaration of Identity and the addressed envelopes which cause the problems, I would argue. Those documents rely on the supply of accurate data about electors to the printers, and the turning around of the printing, within a very short timeframe.

Fixed term parliaments would also allow an earlier cut-off date for applications for absent voting, though. But people are ringing up now to get postal votes for 5 May because they will be on holiday - sometimes they are going away before 25 April, in which case a postal vote is of no use to them whatsoever - despite the fact that in this area, elections of some sort or another are held *every single year* in May (well, except for when there's FMD or Europeans )

People are also still ringing up to try to get onto the electoral register .

Sorry, long day.

Mol

ould say that identity cards would make postal voting easier as thumb prints could be used for identification, but frankly they'd still be ridiculously insecure.

However until everyone is asked for proof of identity BEFORE they vote, any ballot has the possibility of being rigged.

I am still not sure about identity cards, I think that today almost anything can be forged from passports to currency so it would probably be only a matter of time before ID cards would follow.
So proof of identity could still open to fraud so what is the solution to ballot rigging?