Wide scale voter fraud allegations dismissed

Nearly 70 cases are still under investigation or awaiting a decision from prosecutors over whether to press charges, according to independent elections watchdog the Electoral Commission and the Association of Chief Police Officers.

West Yorkshire Police was among the busiest forces, being called in to look at 26 cases, with another five cases investigated elsewhere in the region. In Halifax, police found evidence of up to 20 people being “duped” into signing forms appointing a proxy to vote on their behalf, although there was not enough evidence to press charges of fraud and the problem was resolved before election day, the report reveals.

Of the 232 cases which were investigated, more than a third – 38 per cent – related to voting offences such as impersonating someone else at a polling station, and tampering with ballot papers. Campaign offences, including allegations of false statements made in literature, were 34 per cent.

Police took no further action in 137 cases – more than half – and gave informal advice in 23. They issued cautions in two and 68 inquiries are continuing.

Electoral Commission chairwoman Jenny Watson said: “There was some high profile reporting of alleged electoral malpractice around the elections and perceptions of fraud continue to be a concern to voters.

“Yet these figures do not support the more pessimistic perceptions: there’s no evidence of widespread attempts to commit electoral fraud, or of election results being called into question.”

She added that it was important the public had accurate information and thanked police forces across the UK for their work which made the analysis possible.