APPENDIX 1
Memorandum by the Home Office
D. Absent Voting
Qualifications and application procedures
4.1 Absent voting is only available to those electors
who qualify for it, not on demand. The qualification varies depending
on whether the application is made for an indefinite period, or
is for one particular election.
4.2 Under the Representation of the People Act 1985,
section 6, the following may apply for an absent vote ie by post
or by proxy, for an indefinite period:
service voters, by proxy only, if serving outside
the UK, subject to the service declaration lasting beyond a year;
those whose addresses have changed so that
they are no longer within the same area, up until the expiry of
the register in respect of which the application was made;
those who by reason of blindness or other physical
incapacity cannot reasonably be expected to go in person to their
allotted polling stations or to vote unaided there, provided that
their applications have been attested by medical practitioners
or other suitably qualified persons;
those who cannot reasonably be expected to
go in person to their allotted polling stations by reason of the
general nature of their or their spouse's occupation, service
or employment, provided that their applications have been attested
by the employer or, if they are self-employed, another suitable
witness.
4.3 Under section 7 of the 1985 Act, where an elector
applies for an absent vote at a particular election the ERO must
be satisfied that the applicant's circumstances on the day of
the poll will be or are likely to be such that he cannot reasonably
be expected to vote in person at the polling station allotted
to him, eg a holiday has been booked or he is likely to be away
on a business trip. The application for an absent vote must be
received by 5pm on the 11th day before the date of the poll at
that election, unless it is claimed on medical grounds, in which
case it must be received by 5pm on the 6th day before the election.
The Representation of the People (Amendment) Regulations 1997
extended this timetable, with effect from March 1997, in time
for the general election; the previous deadline had been mid-day
on the 13th day before an election.
Absent voters list
4.4 Under regulation 74 of the 1986 Regulations,
the ERO is required to publish an absent voters list and list
of postal proxies, after the closing date for absent vote applications
at an election (ie 11 working days before polling day). The lists
are published by making a copy available for inspection until
polling day at the ERO's office.
Absent voting publicity
4.5 Absent voting leaflets and posters are available
to EROs at any time during the year (not just when elections are
imminent). A total of £695,000 was spent on advertising absent
voting provisions in England and Wales at the 1997 election. Television
advertising cost £305,000; national press advertising cost
£370,000; with a further £25,000 spent on publicity
in ethnic minority newspapers. This does not include funding of
local publicity by EROs.
4.6 A table setting out the full qualifications and
attestation requirements for absent voting may be found at Annex
E. The detailed procedures for postal and proxy voting are given
in Annex F. Statistics on absent voting at the last four general
elections are given in table 7.
Table 7: Absent voting at last four General Elections
|
| 1997 | 1992
| 1987 | 1983 |
|
| Number of successful applications for postal vote
| 940,870 | 835,074 | 947,748
| 757,537 |
| Postal votes counted |
754,933 | 692,139 | 793,062
| 623,554 |
| Postal votes rejected |
27,648 | 21,465 | 25,287
| 20,080 |
| Rejected votes as percentage of postal votes cast
| 3.5% | 3.0% | 3.1%
| 3.1% |
| Number of voters who appointed proxies
| 333,339 | Not known | Not known
| Not known |
| Total number of successful absent vote applications
| 1,274,209
(c 3% of total electorate)
|
| |
|
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Issues commonly raised
Attestation for indefinite absent votes on medical grounds
4.7 Representatives of political parties have expressed concern
about the attestation requirement for an indefinite absent vote
on medical grounds. This was amended by the Representation of
the People (Amendment) Regulations 1997, with effect from 17 June
1997, so that the medical practitioner attesting such an application
must be one who treats the elector concerned. The change was introduced
as an additional security provision to prevent the practice of
"batching up" applications for attestation by practitioners
who did not know the applicants. However, it has been argued that
the elderly and infirm do not wish to trouble their own doctors
with such requests, and it is alleged that some doctors charge
fees for their signature (in contravention of the National Health
Service Regulations). There is also some concern that carers have
difficulty in establishing a qualification for an indefinite absent
vote.
Short timetable for applications
4.8 There are concerns that the timetable to apply for an absent
vote in advance of a particular election may be short, depending
on the qualifying criteria. However, this is a reflection of the
short election campaigns which are the practice in this country,
and the electoral practitioners' advice to the Home Office in
the run up to the 1997 general election was that the final dates
for applications were now just about as late as they could be,
given the need to verify and process forms and post ballot papers
before the election.
Proxy voting by overseas electors
4.9 Voters must provide an address in the United Kingdom if
they want a postal vote, as opposed to a proxy vote. The legislation
does not permit ballot papers to be sent overseas as overseas
postal services cannot be required to observe the secrecy nor
the short timetable of UK elections. A number of overseas electors
have complained about the infringement of their secret ballot
through having to vote by proxy. This seems to be a particular
concern of some of those serving in the armed forces overseas,
who argue that the BFPO could provide a sufficiently good service
for postal voting.
Complexity of application procedures
4.10 Annex E refers. It has been suggested that the rules
surrounding absent vote applications are too complex and deter
voters; and that absent votes should be able to be supplied on
demand. Any arrangements must provide safeguards against possible
electoral abuse and fraud.
Complexity of voting procedures
4.11 Annex F refers. There are concerns that the postal voting
procedures requiring electors to put specific items in specific
envelopes are too complex and confuse the voters, leading to a
comparatively high rate of rejection. In particular, it is argued
that it is excessive to reject a vote which is otherwise in order
for want of a covering envelope. However, the percentage of postal
votes rejected has remained consistently around 3-3.5 per cent
mark over the last four general elections (see table 7).
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