Inquiry launched into spoilt ballot papers
The Electoral Commission has launched a full independent review of the Scottish election after it emerged as many as 100,000 votes have been discounted.
Up to ten per cent of ballot papers were dismissed as spoilt, as Scottish voters appear to have been confused by the complicated voting system.
Scots had to select a constituency and regional MSP, while also voting for the local councils using the single transferable vote system.
It is the latest setback to mar the electoral process in Scotland. Earlier in the week, the commission was forced to admit a small number of Scots living overseas would lose out on their vote after delays in dispatching ballot papers.
The Electoral Commission said the review would seek to discover the reasons for the high number of rejected ballots, flaws in the electronic counting process and the arrangements for post voting.
Speaking during election night, the SNP leader Alex Salmond criticised the high number of rejected votes, claiming it made a mockery of the electoral process.
He later pledged to launch a “rigorous” independent inquiry if appointed first minister.
The Electoral Reform Society described the situation in Scotland as shocking and called for action when the problem emerged during counting.
“We need a full and open enquiry into why so many votes were spoilt in these elections,” said Ken Ritchie, the society’s chief executive.
It became apparent soon after counting began that nearly ten per cent of votes in the Scottish election were invalid. In some seats the number of spoiled ballot papers exceeded the successful MSP’s majority.
The Electoral Reform Society disputed claims the complicated voting system was to blame. When it was first used in 1999, the number of spoilt papers was less than one per cent.
“We need to understand what has gone so wrong as to increase this number more than tenfold,” said Mr Ritchie.
The society also questioned whether electronic counting technology could be to blame, pointing out that technology did not cause people to make mistakes completing their ballot papers.
Mr Ritchie continued: “This year there have been two major changes that might have affected voters; Firstly, there is some evidence that the design of the ballot paper and accompanying instructions might have caused some confusion.
“Secondly, Scottish parliament elections, which required people to vote with two ‘X’s, were held alongside the local government elections in which people were asked to vote with numbers.
“It is possible that holding two elections with very different voting systems on the same day was a mistake. Holding future elections on different days is an option that must be considered.”
In Airdrie and Shotts, 1,536 ballot papers were miscast. Counters in Dundee west rejected 978 papers and 970 were spoilt in Motherwell and Wishaw.
