Tuesday, February 06, 2007

Prepare For Election Fraud

Not my headline, but that of "The Times" the other day as it reported that nearly one in every seven postal votes in last year's local elections in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets may have been fraudulent. And if this wasn't enough, the article by Sir Alistair Graham, Chairman of the Committee on Standards in Public Life, expressed disquiet with the over-confident attitudes of the Department for Constitutional Affairs and The Electoral Commission who both support experiments with internet, telephone and advance voting.

"It is time to end the denial and complacency about the dangers facing our electoral system", said Sir Alistair. "Electoral fraud is a real and potent threat to our democracy. Can we be sure that these important elections in May will be free, fair and secure? Regrettably my answer is no."