New postal vote law kicks in

Measures to curb postal voting fraud have come into force, with tougher checks and new offences for false applications.

The reforms are introduced under the Electoral Administration Act, passed last year amid concerns about the security of voting via the post.

From today there will be new offences for supplying wrongful information and falsely applying for a postal or proxy vote. Postal vote applications must also be accompanied by signatures and dates of birth to enable checks to be carried out.

And there will be a marked register of postal votes received to prevent duplication.

Elections minister Bridget Prentice said: "Democracy is not only about having the choice to vote, but also about having confidence in the integrity of the system.

"These measures will improve security and introduce deterrents against fraud so that people have confidence that their vote will be cast and counted fairly.

"We have brought into force a requirement for all people applying to vote by post or proxy to provide their signature and date of birth. At elections, postal voters must provide these identifiers on their postal voting statement when they cast their vote.

"The Government believes that this, along with the introduction of new election offences, represents a comprehensive set of legislative changes that will improve security and confidence in our electoral system."

But the Tories said that the measures would prove inadequate because still only one in five applications would be checked.

Shadow constitutional affairs secretary Oliver Heald said: "There is growing concern that Britain no longer has fully free and fair elections and our democracy has been compromised by Labour's reckless and partisan changes."