Electoral Fraud (Hansard, 11 November 2003)

§ Mr. Drew
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what research he has collated on the level of electoral fraud in(a) postal ballots and (b) voting in person. [137335]

§ Mr. Leslie
The independent Electoral Commission has evaluated every all-postal electoral pilot scheme undertaken since April 2002. The evaluations included consideration of the issue of fraud and the findings from the 2003 pilots informed the Commission's recent 'Shape of elections to come' report, which concluded that 'there is only very limited evidence of any increase in fraud linked to all-postal ballots.'

§ Mr. Drew
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what criminal sanctions there are in relation to electoral fraud. [137336]

§ Mr. Leslie
There are a number of offences relating to electoral fraud which carry a variety of penalties including a minimum fine of £200 (in some circumstances no maximum is specified) and custodial sentences ranging from 6 months to 2 years. In addition, these offences may be classified as either illegal or corrupt practices, which carry different sanctions, depending on the offence. These include disenfranchisement and disqualification from standing as a candidate for specified periods.

§ Mr. Drew
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs if he will list cases of electoral fraud that have resulted in a custodial sentence in the last five years. [137337]

§ Mr. Leslie
I regret that information on electoral fraud cases has not been systematically collected or held centrally. The Electoral Commission is working with the Crown Prosecution Service to develop a process to identify and monitor electoral fraud cases.

§ Mr. Drew
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what discussions he has had with the Electoral Commission on electoral fraud. [137338]

§ Mr. Leslie
My officials and I are in frequent communication with the Electoral Commission on a range of electoral issues, including electoral fraud. Following such discussions, and recommendations made by the Commission, consideration is currently being given to a number of changes to electoral procedures, some of which are aimed at fraud prevention. Meanwhile, we have included in the current European Parliamentary and Local Elections (Pilots) Bill, an extension of the offence of 'personation' (to cover remote voting) and a power to extend the time limit by which a prosecution for such an offence must begin.