DESPITE many expats being once again left unable to vote due to failures in the postal voting system, the government has ruled out any plans in the short-term to bring in internet voting similar to the system used by France for its expats since 2012.
An upcoming ‘Overseas Electors Bill’ is meant to abolish the 15-year limit on expat voting and include measures to make it easier to vote from overseas. But the Cabinet Office said it will not include plans for internet voting nor making it easier for expats to obtain emergency proxy votes if a postal ballot fails to arrive on time.
A spokesman said: “We acknowledge that online voting may be an obvious development for an increasingly digital future. That said, there are issues of cost and security which must be considered and we will keep a close watch on technology as it develops.”
When France introduced internet voting for its expats in 2012, a total 240,000 votes – 55% of expat ballots – were cast online.
Connexion estimates that more than 300,000 British expats were registered to take part in the referendum – three times as many as for the 2015 general election.
This calculation is based on available figures for online registrations made this year, and the fact that some people remained registered from last year.
This must be balanced against the many who did not or could not register – as well as the difficulties faced by some who wanted a postal vote. However, it is still only about 10% of the estimated 3million expats who could have voted, according to figures from a cross-party group on overseas voters in 2014.
Connexion has heard from several readers who did not receive ballots in time from various different councils around the UK, despite clarifying that they had applied for registration by the recommended deadline.
Some readers received packs lacking ‘France’ on the address, or with postcodes missing initial zeroes, which might have contributed to packs arriving late.
Some readers had also assumed – wrongly – that they were still registered from last year’s general election, or omitted to complete the second stage of applying for a postal or proxy vote.
Councils reported being unable to send replacements for missing ballots before June 17, just six days before the vote.
Certain French post offices initially did not know what to do with the reply envelopes, which had international franking. Alerted by Connexion, La Poste later said it was making sure its network was familiar with the envelopes. Similar problems were also reported in other countries and the Electoral Commission put out a statement saying they believed a ‘very small number of voters’ in a ‘handful of locations’ were affected, and that it was working with foreign postal services to ensure acceptance.
At least one council sent out ballot packs with reply envelopes franked only for delivery in the UK. After we alerted the Commission, the council in question advised one of our readers that she was one of 82 people who had received the wrong envelopes and said that she should pay for postage to ensure her vote was delivered.
Despite these issues, many voters received ballots in good time and with properly franked reply envelopes.
Rik Still was among those told that a replacement could not be sent before June 17. He was then informed by South Lakeland District Council in Cumbria that if the original one arrived in the meantime, it was now void. “So, fundamentally, we have lost our vote in this important referendum. I am seriously unimpressed,” he said.
Ann Keen said Hambledon District Council in Yorkshire told her that ballots were sent on June 10, but she had not received one on contacting us on June 21. “June 10 was too late – things can take up to two weeks to get here. I’m furious at being denied my right to vote in a referendum that is so important to expats.”
The chairman of campaign group Brits Abroad: Yes to Europe, George Cunningham, said he was aware of a number of people who had not received their ballots, relating to several UK councils. He had also been informed of problems with the franking not being recognised.
He said there was no excuse for councils being slow to send ballot papers as the voting date was known well in advance.
Mr Cunningham said: “We may name and shame councils so they learn the lesson of getting them out promptly next time. Some councils this time were acknowledging receipt – reassuring people – which was excellent. There was a variety of approaches, which leads us to the fact that once expats get their voting rights back we would like designated overseas constituencies like France, so they are all dealt with equally. And we want internet voting.
“It would overcome so many problems.”
If there were found to be serious problems with postal voting, the result could be called into question. The Referendum Act 2015 states there is a six-week window during which legal challenges may be mounted based on voting irregularities.
An Electoral Commission spokeswoman said it had worked to improve overseas voting; and the chief counting officer had directed that overseas ballots should be sent out with the first batch of postal votes in May, if voters were registered in time.
The Commission had also worked to ensure return envelopes were franked suitably and worked with the Royal Mail to iron out problems with overseas postal services.
She said the body had been in touch with UK councils where ‘issues’ had been identified with overseas ballots. At three councils it was decided to annul batches and send replacements. Processes were in place to ensure no one ended up voting twice.
She added: “Electronic and other new ways of voting may have potential to increase participation and improve the efficiency of the administration of elections. However, issues associated with the security and transparency of e-voting solutions and their impact on the electoral process, together with the cost-effectiveness of the technology, need to be assessed before any decisions are taken. Any plans to introduce e-voting would be a matter for the government.”
