Friday, May 06, 2005
20,000 Missing Votes Heighten Postal Fraud Fears
20,000 missing votes became the focus of Britain’s biggest election count early today, when early indications showed that a third of postal votes issued in Birmingham had not been returned. A spokesperson for the Electoral Reform Society said that many people expressed concerns about secrecy when handing in ballots, especilly in Hackney where the papers had been "piled up on a table and could easily be bundled away". A spokeswoman for Hackney Council said that all postal ballot envelopes handed in would be put into special bags before being taken to council offices.