Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Voter Fraud

Thursday 11 February 2021 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 2 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Government plans to tackle voter fraud include requiring identification to vote at polling stations
  • Measures will also be introduced to stop postal vote harvesting
  • Minister for the Constitution and Devolution is examining ways to ensure effective voter registration

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Daniel Poulter Con
Democracy & Elections
Context

There is concern about the issue of voter fraud during elections. The previous election had significant concerns regarding students voting in multiple locations.

Question

What plans does he have to tackle voter fraud in elections? Is there more that can be done to prevent students from registering or trying to vote in more than one location, rather than just relying on retrospective prosecutions?

Answer from Michael Gove

The Government are committed to delivering their agenda of electoral reform. They will introduce measures requiring identification to vote at polling stations and to stop postal vote harvesting. The Minister for the Constitution and Devolution is looking into how to ensure effective voter registration to prevent confusion or attempts to subvert election integrity, with more details to be provided in due course.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific ask about improving voter registration and preventing multiple voting was not directly addressed. The response discusses general measures but does not commit to concrete actions for student voters or dual registrations.

Was this summary accurate? Tell us

How accurate was this summary? (1 = poor, 5 = spot on)

Q2 Daniel Poulter Con
Democracy & Elections
Context

There is concern about the issue of voter fraud during elections. The previous election had significant concerns regarding students voting in multiple locations.

Question

The Minister will be aware that, during the previous election and indeed during the 2017 election, there was considerable concern about students potentially voting in more than one location. Is there more that my right hon Friend can do to ensure we prevent this from happening?

Answer from Michael Gove

The Government are committed to delivering their agenda of electoral reform. They will introduce measures requiring identification to vote at polling stations and to stop postal vote harvesting. My hon Friend makes a very important point; the Minister for the Constitution and Devolution is looking at how we can ensure effective voter registration to prevent confusion or attempts to subvert election integrity.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific ask about improving voter registration for student voters was not directly addressed. The response discusses general measures but does not commit to concrete actions for student voters or dual registrations.

Was this summary accurate? Tell us

How accurate was this summary? (1 = poor, 5 = spot on)