"Today we have seen concerningly high levels of family voting in Gorton and Denton. 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."
"Democracy Volunteers said that while the enactment of the Ballot Secrecy Act in 2023 made family voting more clearly a breach of the secret ballot, signage to discourage the practice was only seen in 45% of the polling stations observed."
"The observing team said they saw family voting in 15 of the 22 polling stations observed, reporting 32 cases in total, nine cases in one polling station alone. They observed a sample of 545 voters casting their votes, of which they said 12% either directed or were affected by family voting."
Democracy Volunteers deployed four accredited observers across 22 of 45 polling stations in the Gorton and Denton byelection to monitor voting practices. The organization identified family voting—where voters influence or direct others' votes in breach of secret ballot rules—in 15 of 22 observed stations, documenting 32 total cases. Of 545 sampled voters, 12% either directed or were affected by family voting. Observers noted that signage discouraging the practice appeared in only 45% of polling stations despite the 2023 Ballot Secrecy Act clarifying its illegality. Democracy Volunteers reported these levels as the highest in their 10-year observation history, significantly exceeding recent byelections. Manchester city council stated its staff received training to detect voter interference but reported no concerns during polling.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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