Family voting

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Two people in the same voting booth

Family voting is a form of electoral fraud where family members enter a voting booth together and collude, discuss, or direct voting intentions. [1] Family voting violates the secret ballot principle of free and fair elections. The election observer group Democracy Volunteers has noted the occurrence of family voting, for example in elections in the United Kingdom, [2] the Netherlands, [3] and in Sweden. [1] In 2023, the United Kingdom passed the Ballot Secrecy Act 2023 to make family voting a criminal offence. [4] [5]

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Gorton and Denton by-election

During the 2026 Gorton and Denton by-election on 26 February, the organisation Democracy Volunteers stated that its observers attended 22 of 45 polling stations and recorded 32 instances of family voting in a sample of 545 voters, describing the levels as the highest it had observed in ten years of monitoring UK elections. [6] The acting returning officer for the by-election said that polling station staff were trained to detect undue influence on voters, and had not reported any such cases. [7]

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References

  1. 1 2 "Democracy Volunteers PRELIMINARY STATEMENT – Sweden General Election 09/09/18". Democracy Volunteers. 9 September 2018. Archived from the original on 27 March 2022. Retrieved 27 February 2026.
  2. ↑ Al-Othman, Hannah (27 February 2026). "Observers raise concerns over secret ballot breaches at Gorton and Denton byelection". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 27 February 2026.
  3. ↑ "Democracy Volunteers SPECIAL REPORT – Netherlands Parliamentary Elections 15/03/17". Democracy Volunteers. 16 March 2017. Archived from the original on 22 January 2022. Retrieved 27 February 2026.
  4. ↑ Winchester, Nicole (11 July 2022). Ballot Secrecy Bill [HL]: HL Bill 15 of 2022–23 (Report). House of Lords Library. Archived from the original on 28 September 2022. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  5. ↑ "Ballot Secrecy Act", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, 2023 c. 12
  6. ↑ "Reports of family voting at Gorton and Denton by-election". LBC. 26 February 2026. Retrieved 27 February 2026.
  7. ↑ Holt, James (27 February 2026). "Gorton and Denton family voting row erupts as Democracy Volunteers hit back". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 27 February 2026.
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