Quote Originally Posted by upthemaggies View Post
Should we scrap postal voting? It should be up for debate after this farce.
I don't think you can scrap it completely and I don't think that's what you mean. If someone has a genuine medical reason why they cannot attend a polling station, or if their job makes it impossible (rather than inconvenient) to do so, then with appropriate proof they should be able to vote by post.

The concern is the current trend towards people voting by post just because it's most convenient for them and takes the least effort. I understand why people want to do it and will take the opportunity if it's there, but it does open up the potential for more undemocratic things to occur, be it people being subject to undue influence when filling out their ballot paper, votes being lost or interfered with on their (longer) journey, or whatever.

There is still something to be said for walking into a carefully controlled public room, picking up a ballot paper, taking it to your own private booth, casting your vote with a small pencil and then posting it in a box. Of course you still need to trust that the boxes of votes are then transported and counted correctly, but so far as the physical act of voting is concerned, it's probably the best way we have of getting the ballot paper to a person and into a secure box by the quickest and shortest route, in a space where any attempt to interfere with your actions or thought processes can be stopped immediately. We even have controls on how many people can stand outside the polling station and what information they can request or impart.