Voting. I’m so glad we still have the ‘old fashioned’ system…

Apart from the rigged postal votes

Good points here.

1. Have to use a biro or a felt tipped own instead of a pencil. Preferably one with indelible ink. If they make a mistake. Tough.

2..Postal voting should only be confined to people who are genuinely housebound. Or have genuine walking or other mobility issues. Or genuinely do work away. Needs employer verification. Open to abuse

3. Postal voting is wide open to fraud etc. Think voting forms that go to an addresses where the occupant has left or died.

Details not updated right away on the Electoral Register. So new occupant who may not even be allowed to vote can use the postal voting form as a form of identification.

Barbadosbelle

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Postal voting should only be allowed for those who are physically unable to attend in person. Which should be confirmed by a GP.
It is far too open to fraud.
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So you think those who happen to be away from home on polling day should lose their right to vote?

Until my mother died last year, I was away from home for two weeks at a time every two weeks, alternating caring duties with my sister. Obviously one of us would be away from home when there was an election. I think it's reasonable that under those circumstance we should be allowed a postal vote. I am sure there are many more people whose circumstances mean they cannot always vote in person.

Nurseundercover

I don’t think we should be using pencils to place our X these can be tampered with. We should use a biro.

Biros had leech ink a bit and cause confusion if the ink lands on another candidate's name. Do you seriously think anyone is going to spend hours laboriously rubbing out individual votes and putting the X elsewhere? You'd have to do thousands to make a difference and the rubbing out would show anyway!

Barbadosbelle

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Postal voting should only be allowed for those who are physically unable to attend in person. Which should be confirmed by a GP.
It is far too open to fraud.
.
.

As if the GPs are not busy enough. They would also charge as they do for most documentation

Barbadosbelle

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Postal voting should only be allowed for those who are physically unable to attend in person. Which should be confirmed by a GP.
It is far too open to fraud.
.
.

Nonsense. As I said, we now use postal votes, because being at home on the day of an election (local, mayoral, police commissioner or GE) is not necessarily going to happen. Others will have their own reasons, which won’t always be physical incapacitation.

Voter turnout is low enough without making it more difficult for people. I have never not voted, and certainly have never done so fraudulently.

I was a polling clerk for years (also did nany counts) so did a postal vote, still prefer it even though my polling station is 100 yards from my house

Barbadosbelle, postal voting was used by my fit forty eight year old son, because he knew that he would be at a conference in Madrid at the time.
Is it your view that he should not have been able to do this?

I agree about using a ballot paper and pencil - but when I saw the 'headline' I thought you meant First Past the Post and personally I think we should move to some form of fair votes. I know this is not quite the response you had in mind, but you triggered this thought and i thought i'd share it.

I seem to remember dh having a postal vote since he was unavoidably away for work. IIRC he had to apply, and provide a specimen signature which was presumably compared with a postal vote signature.
Does this not apply any more?
But I agree, it’s too open to fraud.

ronib

The advantage of a postal vote is the ability to tear it up into pieces… recognising the futility of UK politics.

I don't understand this viewpoint. How does tearing up a postal vote reduce the 'futility' of UK politics?

I meant 'affect' the futility of British politics!

I agree Nurseundercover. Pencil marks can be altered. But being cynical who is to say that any ballot papers can be spoilt.

Alison333 if more and more people refused to vote, either through complete apathy or an unwillingness to participate in an outdated and flawed process, then some essential reforms might happen.
Also it relieves a bit of a temper tantrum at just how very badly the Uk is being run.

How?

How is postal voting open to fraud? The voting system is indeed fine as it is, but the system needs to change to PR, especially as we now have multiple parties who need to be recognised in government.

I overheard the clerk in the polling station explain to someone why pens are not provided for voting. Two main reasons are that pen marks may be visible on the other side of the paper and as someone has said, ink can bleed through and cause a mark elsewhere, which then invalidates the vote.

Did a postal vote. First time but after posting, I learned of how the system can be abused. Discovered that people who have family members with learning disabilities and have no comprehension who is who listed or even any awareness of political parties re completing the forms with their own preferred candidate. This was discovered when someone in a group I attend and who ihas a family member with learning disability just declared they filled family member's form in with who he himself voted for. There doesn't seem to be anything in the system to prevent this.

It’s not the old system. The hurdles stop some voting. Does no one here realise there are really poor people in this World
Have a listen to r4 xtra now.
General strike.
V much like now

People can help others fill in the ballot paper at the Polling Station, just as they might with a postal vote. There might be abuse but not much can be done about it.

ronib

The advantage of a postal vote is the ability to tear it up into pieces… recognising the futility of UK politics.

What a silly thing to do🙄 how can change be achieved if you don't contribute to it.
It makes me annoyed when people say they don't vote. We might make the right decision but at least we can contibute.

If very few people voted, the system would need to be changed? As it is, the turnout was not very enthusiastic.

ronib

Alison333 if more and more people refused to vote, either through complete apathy or an unwillingness to participate in an outdated and flawed process, then some essential reforms might happen.
Also it relieves a bit of a temper tantrum at just how very badly the Uk is being run.

I once vented my frustration at the whole sorry lot of them (it was a general election) by voting for the Monster Raving Loony. But I would never NOT vote.

You do realise that you are in a minority?
Turnouts were not high in these last elections.

Why not a revolution?
Who would actually be honest enough to say they’d voted for a racist, misogynist candidate?
I’ll wait- until hell freezes
Where I live there’s lots of overweight late middle age men driving range rovers and at tge pub.id like to bet most vote Reform or Con.
irs sad!