Probe into family voting in the Gorton and Denton by-election looks like a whitewash - Yorkshire Post Letters
From: Clark Cross, Linlithgow, West Lothian.
In the recent Gorton and Denton by-election the reputable election observer group Democracy Volunteers said that it had witnessed ‘concerningly high levels’ of family voting.
This is the term used when a person goes into a polling booth with someone else or otherwise directs which candidate they must vote for.
Democracy Volunteers has been in existence for 10 years and is accredited by the Electoral Commission. The director of Democracy Volunteers, John Ault, said after the poll: "Based on our assessment of today's observations, we have seen the highest levels of family voting at any election in our 10 year history of observing elections in the UK".
Family voting was made illegal by the Ballot Secrecy Act 2023. Have UK standards now fallen to the level of parts of Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Balkans, and some Middle Eastern and African countries where this practice is prevalent?
Following complaints Greater Manchester Police surprisingly quickly concluded a probe and said there was no evidence of this illegal practice. Looks like a whitewash.