Registrations for postal votes have fallen dramatically in the wake of election fraud cases brought the court in the past three years, leading to widespread speculation that postal voting fraud in the 2004 local council elections may have been far more extensive than previously thought.The BBC has reported that the numbers of postal voters in the Birmingham wards at the centre of vote rigging allegations had fallen by 22,500, with an 80% drop in two wards at the centre of the fraud scandal, while in four other wards where there were also claims of fraud numbers of registered postal voters have fallen by more than 50%.
West Midlands police Assistant Chief Constable David Shaw said the police were carrying out an unprecedented level of scrutiny for this week's local council elections. "We have never had this level of inspection of the process," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. "We have never worked so closely with the Electoral Commission or the councils to make sure that it goes ahead freely and fairly."
"Dirty Tricks" Election Fury
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A word about evidence. Most of what people think is material evidence of a criminal offence is in fact either hearsay evidence (asserted, but without any proof) or circumstantial evidence (suggests guilt but does not prove it). For an introduction to the subject of evidence, try: