The motive behind the introduction and ongoing encouragement of postal voting is a sound one. Far too few people bother to turn up at the polling stations, particularly at local elections. That is not healthy for democracy. Therefore anything that makes it easier for voters to exercise the democratic right that was so hard won for them over the centuries has to be a good thing.
That, at least, is the theory. And in those terms it could be considered a very healthy sign that 39,932 people have registered for a postal vote in Bradford. A fair proportion of those people might not otherwise take advantage of the opportunity to have their say at the polls.
However, it is understandable if the size of the postal vote has begun to ring a few alarm bells. It is a very high proportion of the overall electorate compared with the figures for Leeds (31,601) and Birmingham (28,000), both places with much bigger populations than Bradford's.
Last year there were allegations of corruption. It was claimed that voters had been threatened and intimidated into giving away their postal ballot papers. Although there were no prosecutions, we are assured that there has been a tightening of controls this year to ensure that the process is as fair as possible and voters have been urged to follow a strict procedure to minimise the risk of abuse.
It is to be hoped these precautions work. Otherwise, a system of voting intended to promote democracy could end up undermining it instead.
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