Ballot box tampering is an unauthorized access and manipulation of the voting results. It is a substitution of ballot papers that are present in the polling stations. The tempering is often done during the transportation of ballots. Ballot tempering is a serious concern when it comes to voting system in the UK. The UK Labor Party has been accused of ballot box tempering several times as some of the members have been behind the tempering. The outcome of an election can completely take a new turn when the ballot box results are changed and replaced with fake ones. This can result in the invalidating of the legitimate votes. It introduces the fraudulent voting results as well.
An Inquiry Called for UK Labor Party Ballot Box Tempering
The members of the UK Labor Party have been accused of ballot-box tampering. Then controversial parliamentary selection process was abandoned even though there was a discovery of evidence that indicated the culprit to be a staff member. According to reports, the ballot box voting results were tempered and it was done by a staff member. This led to a call for an investigation into the issue.
Things got serious when ripped-up voting papers were found. The ballot box was organized to choose the new Labour’s candidate in the area of south-east London. According to reports the seats of Erith and Thamesmead were found inside a ballot box. It was stored in a cupboard at Labour headquarters in Victoria, central London back in 2009. The labor party members have been accused of tempering many times in the past years. The selection process was suspended and an inquiry was launched due to the proofs that proved ballot box tempering by a staff member.
An Expert Hired to Identify the Culprit behind Ballot Box Tempering
The inquiry was done by an expert who discovered a fingerprint that belonged to a man on the ballot papers. The party ended its inquiry as there were concerns that the Union members may attempt to take fingerprint samples from staff members. This can result in the infringement of their human rights. Due to this claim, the investigation could not be carried out any further. The incident related to Ballot box tempering is just one of those many incidents that have occurred in the past. Many times the tempering was not even and the voting results have been effected every time without issues.
Ballot Box Tempering Frauds Conducted by the Members of the UK Labor Party
An investigation was done against the ballot box tempering incident in the past. This investigation brought all the details of the fraud committed by the members of the UK Labor Party. According to reports that came out in the past, the ballot box contained fewer than 100 postal votes. A handful of them were destroyed which was an act of sabotage. “The failure to take this seriously and get to the bottom of who destroyed these ballot papers leaves the party open to further suspicions in the future,” said an NEC member. “This is a shameful conclusion to a shameful episode around the selection process in Erith and Thamesmead.”
The Selection Process was Widely Criticized Due to Ballot Box Fraud
The selection process was widely criticized because there were accusations that nepotism was taking over and the seats were given to family members of the UK Labor party members. Georgia Gould, the 23-year-old daughter of Tony Blair’s former pollster, Lord Gould, was an example that won a safe seat due to tempering. That was the occasion when a Labour parliamentary election ballot box was stored in Victoria.
Party officials were a part of it and they claimed that the local party cannot be trusted to manage the selection process. As a result, an inquiry was held and it was led by the former party chair, Cath Speight. Police could not play any part in the investigation because it was not clear whether a criminal act did take place or not.
The Labour party was sent a list of 13 questions and there were specific allegations from NEC members in the paper. The paper also included requests to provide them with information about the alleged discovery of a fingerprint. A general statement was released that said: “The Labour Party NEC investigated at length and received full cooperation from everyone concerned. No person was implicated in the official reports and the matter is now closed.”