'Family voting' concerns raised by election observers in Gorton and Denton

"We rarely issue a report on the night of an election, but the data we have collected today on family voting, when compared to other recent by-elections, is extremely high. In the other recent Westminster parliamentary by-election in Runcorn and Helsby we saw family voting in 12% of polling stations, affecting 1% of voters. In Gorton and Denton, we observed family voting in 68% of polling stations, affecting 12% of those voters observed."

"Family voting is where a family member is seen to be influencing somebody else's vote, for example by entering the polling booth with them. Under the Ballot Secrecy Act 2023, it is an offence to be in a polling booth with another person in order to influence that person to vote in a particular way."

"The group said four observers attended 22 of the 45 polling stations in the constituency, spending 30 to 45 minutes in each. Of the 22 polling stations observed, volunteers reported potential family voting in 15. They observed a sample of 545 individuals casting their vote and saw 32 cases of family voting in total, including nine cases in one polling station."

Democracy Volunteers, an election observation group, raised concerns about unusually high levels of family voting during the Gorton and Denton by-election, where family members were seen influencing voters' choices in polling booths. The group observed 22 of 45 polling stations and documented family voting in 68% of them, affecting 12% of observed voters—significantly higher than the 12% of polling stations and 1% of voters affected in the recent Runcorn and Helsby by-election. Out of 545 individuals observed casting votes, 32 cases of family voting were recorded, including nine instances at a single polling station. Under the Ballot Secrecy Act 2023, such influence constitutes an offense. The by-election's acting returning officer disputed the findings, stating polling staff were trained to prevent undue influence and no such issues were reported during voting.

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