Voting rules

Despite months of campaigning, protests, letters, and petitions, a Conservative majority government has been installed.

What this means for legal aid probably needs no explaining. A referendum on Europe seems inevitable and further attacks on human rights more than likely. Already, the Liberal Democrat concessions to the 'Snoopers Charter' look like they will end up in the bin, along with many former ministers. So after the country went to the polls, it's all change.

Voting is a serious matter and a right that we are told we should hold dear. Even self-styled revolutionary Russell Brand has been turned on to its charms, and those of the former Labour leader, Ed Miliband. Or so we thought. A right to vote is the bedrock of democracy and, yes, Magna Carta had something to do with it, of course.

Once the polls close and the counters finish their work, we typically hear little more about the highs and lows of the months of campaigning that led us to election day. Of course, with a broadly unanticipated outcome such as this, the head-scratching and period of reflection is likely to continue for some time.

Overnight on Thursday and into Friday, with an unprecedented turnout in some constituencies, there was potential for the greatest number of re-counts and delayed results, with spoiled papers being reassessed as margins shrank and big names fell.

With so many surprises around the country, it is perhaps not surprising that allegations of election fraud have come into play. Election fraud is a curiously specialist area of the law, rarely featured in the national news, but frequently cited in campaign literature by aggrieved candidates.

Far from simply being rules against the taking of selfies or the wearing of 'political' t-shirts, election fraud includes serious crimes including bribery, personation, and 'treating', as well as the making of false statements on election materials, and, less so, failing to provide imprint details.

As an electorate, we are not particularly well-informed of what we can and cannot do around the election. Rules about voter registration and multiple voting may sound obvious, but there are other misdemeanours occurring online as well as off. Electoral officers are trained to recognise suspicious activity in polling stations, but who is monitoring the world wide web and who cares?

Social media has of course had its part to play in this election. As well as Brand's infamous YouTube videos, social pressure to be seen to vote has been evident. The #IVoted hashtag trended worldwide on Twitter and the engagement of political parties locally and nationally has been buoyed by the accessibility of social media platforms.

Indeed, George Galloway has been alleged to have tweeted exit poll results before polling stations closed. So what, right? Well, despite losing his Bradford seat, if prosecuted for election fraud he could receive a fine or even a jail time.

Statistics suggest that prosecution is unlikely, though. In 2014, the year of the Scottish referendum and several local elections, only one case was reported to have been prosecuted, involving the theft of campaign signs. In five cases police cautions were accepted. Candidates are more likely to be reprimanded for breaching the rules than voters.

Will you end up in prison for taking a selfie? Rest easy, it's unlikely to happen this time, but in another five years, who knows?

Kevin Poulter, editor at large

@SJ_Weekly | @kevinpoulter

editorial@solicitorsjournal.co.uk

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