NEW guidance has been issued to officials in charge of May’s elections after research into vote fraud in Pendle’s South Asian community.

The electoral commission is asking returning officers to take specific actions to make sure British Pakistanis and Bangladeshis are aware of the process and alert to political campaigners using unscrupulous and illegal tactics.

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It also confirmed that Blackburn with Darwen, Burnley, Hyndburn and Pendle remain on its list of 17 council areas at ‘high risk’ of vote fraud.

The advice was published today with two special reports into vote fraud in areas mainly populated British Pakistani or British Bangladeshi communities.

Four ‘high risk’ areas were chosen for the research - Pendle, Oldham, Derby and Peterborough - and compared with four other similar but ‘low risk’ boroughs.

In May 2012, PendleTory MP Andrew Stephenson used a Parliamentary debate to accuse members of the Asian community of falsifying postal votes. Last year, Lancashire Police referred a file on ‘proxy voting’ in Accrington’s Barnfield ward to prosecutors, while investigations in two other wards in Hyndburn, and two in Blackburn with Darwen, found no evidence of wrong-doing.

  • The Electoral Commission research showed in the South Asian community: Strong networks were vulnerable to unscrupulous campaigners;
  • Low levels of public awareness about the difference between acceptable campaigning and electoral fraud;
  • Voters unsure where to report electoral fraud;
  • Low levels of literacy or English worsened vulnerabilities;
  • Reliance on kinship networks or ‘community leaders’ leading to people voting as a single group rather than as individuals.

Returning officers will now issue written guidance in appropriate languages on:

  • What campaigning is acceptable and what is illegal;
  • The seriousness of electoral fraud;
  • How to report it;
  • That voting is secret, and personal;
  • How to keep their vote secret and safe; and
  • How to change a postal vote back to a polling station one.

Mr Stephenson said: “I am pleased the Electoral Commission has woken up to the problem in some South Asian communities. This not enough to tackle it.“More must be done or we will continue to have elections won by vote fraud.”

Jenny Watson, chair of the Electoral Commission, said: “Proven cases of electoral fraud remain rare, but it is important that no-one underestimates how serious it is.”

“The research provides insight into particular issues faced by voters in some British Pakistani and British Bangladeshi communities, and how these can be tackled. “ She promised the commission would monitor postal voting during and after the May 2015 elections to identify ways to improve security.