Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
David Maddox

What is family voting in elections?

  • Labour has urged authorities to investigate claims of widespread "family voting" in the Gorton and Denton by-election, with the party's chairwoman calling the findings "very concerning".
  • "Family voting” is defined as the practice where two votes either confer, collude or direct each other on voting
  • The practice was made illegal by the Ballot Secrecy Act 2023 to prevent people from watching family members while they were voting, seeing how they cast their ballot and sometimes telling them how to vote.
  • Democracy Volunteers, an election observation group, reported witnessing the highest levels of this practice in their 10-year history of monitoring UK elections during the by-election.
  • Manchester City Council, overseeing the by-election, criticised Democracy Volunteers for not reporting these issues earlier, saying that no concerns were raised from polling stations beforehand.

IN FULL

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.