Oral question asked in the House of Commons, by David Mundell (Conservative). It was answered on Tuesday, 23 January 2007 on behalf of the Scotland Office.

Scottish Elections

Question: Does the Minister accept that voter participation is not just about the number of people who turn up at the polling station but the number of validly cast votes? What level of improperly cast ballots is unacceptable? Will he and the Scottish Executive move away from the system that they, along with their Liberal Democrat chums, foisted on the people of Scotland?

Answer: It is important to distinguish between a genuine mistake when filling in a ballot paper and voter fraud, to which I believe that the hon. Gentleman refers. There is no evidence of significant voter fraud in Scotland. If he has any, he should present it. We included provisions in the Electoral Administration Act 2006 to combat voter fraud. I remind him that he spent a large part of his career as a member of the Social Democratic party, which promoted the single transferable vote system.

Secondary information

Type: Oral question
Reference: 455 c1269
Session: 2006-07
Oral question type: Supplementary
Chamber / Committee: House of Commons chamber
Subjects: Elections Scotland Local government Public participation Scottish Parliament
Link: View this Oral question on www.publications.parliament.uk