No Problems with all Postal Ballots? ... here's one!

Sunderland Echo
22nd October 2004
Ballot 'blunder'

AN ANTI-ASSEMBLY campaigner says he has found himself with the chance to vote No four times.
Neil Herron, of the North East No group, has received three extra ballot packs for the regional assembly referendum.Royal Mail staff took delivery of more than 200,000 packs on Monday and all voters in the city should have theirs by Saturday.

Mr Herron, though, who moved house in June, received not only his ballot pack yesterday but also those for three previous occupants.He said the mix-up showed there was a massive potential for fraud in the all-postal ballot.Referendum officials said people should always tell council election officials that they have moved.Speaking from his home in Westlands, off Chester Road, Mr Herron said: "As a good citizen, I am sending them all back to the elections office."However, if I was an unscrupulous person, and not someone of the highest probity and morality, then I could have indulged myself, voted four times and nobody would be any the wiser."It just goes to show the flaws of the postal ballot system."Mr Herron believed his case might just be the tip of the iceberg and wondered what else was happening across the North East in students' halls or houses of multiple-occupancy."The electoral register would not have created this problem if it was not an all-postal ballot as I would have had to present myself to election officials at the ballot box."There is a huge potential for fraud with postal ballots," he added.

Ged Fitzgerald, chief executive of Sunderland City Council, who is overseeing the referendum as chief counting officer, said: "It is the elector's responsibility to let their electoral registration officer know of any house move or change of address – and that is true in this case."The law does not allow us to remove names from the record during the period of rolling registration unless we're informed by the elector concerned."Mr Fitzgerald reminded people it was an offence for a person to interfere with a ballot pack not addressed to them.He added: "If any elector is in any doubt about what they should do, they should contact the elections office at Sunderland Civic Centre or call 0191-553 1141."*

No campaigners have admitted a "mistake" in saying land on the outskirts of Durham had been identified as the home for any future assembly.Pro-assembly group Yes4theNorthEast has now lodged an official complaint with referendum watchdogs and accused the North East Says No group of running a "lie machine".The No campaigners have insisted a new building for an assembly would be "inevitable".
21 October 2004