Dutch solution to voting

Lennoxschips

In Holland, if you can't come to the polling station, you can get somebody else to vote for you. On the back of every voting slip there's a form where you can write the name of the person you are endorsing to vote for you (said person has to also be registered to vote themselves) and place your signature. Then you give your ID to the person you are endorsing and they go to the polling booth and vote for you and themselves. Obviously it has to be somebody you trust to honestly vote for you, like a family member or good friend.

You don't have to apply months in advance to do this either, you can decide on the day to do it, as it's standard practice. I voted for my sister during the local elections here.

It would allow all those Irish students living out of constituency to vote very easily. If a new government gets in they might want to introduce something like that.

oscarBravo

Seems wide open to voter coercion to me. Basically, the nightmare scenario is the paterfamilias - or worse, "constituency worker" - telling voters to "sign here if you value your skin."

McSandwich

Wasn't it the Dutch who sold us some dodgy voting machines? :rolleyes:

SeaSide

McSandwich wrote:

Wasn't it the Dutch who sold us some dodgy voting machines? :rolleyes:

caveat emptor

Mick86

Lennoxschips wrote:

In Holland, if you can't come to the polling station, you can get somebody else to vote for you. On the back of every voting slip there's a form where you can write the name of the person you are endorsing to vote for you (said person has to also be registered to vote themselves) and place your signature. Then you give your ID to the person you are endorsing and they go to the polling booth and vote for you and themselves. Obviously it has to be somebody you trust to honestly vote for you, like a family member or good friend.

You don't have to apply months in advance to do this either, you can decide on the day to do it, as it's standard practice. I voted for my sister during the local elections here.

It would allow all those Irish students living out of constituency to vote very easily. If a new government gets in they might want to introduce something like that.

Jaysus, talk about a wet dream for Sinn Féin. They could cast votes for the living as well as the dead.:D

Lennoxschips

In a proper system, only the living would be getting voting cards anyway.

or worse, "constituency worker" - telling voters to "sign here if you value your skin."

what do you mean?

LostinBlanch

Undermines the secrecy of the ballot box.

Some people could be intimidated into voting for certain candidates, be brought to the polling station and go in and vote, but noone would be any the wiser as to who they voted for. With this system there isn't even that protection.

Also what happens if a "friend" is instructed to vote one way and votes another? This undermines the original voters intention and leaves the whole process up to question. Which is what should never happen.

stepbar

Mick86 wrote:

Jaysus, talk about a wet dream for Sinn Féin. They could cast votes for the living as well as the dead.:D

I laughed at that because its true.....

Mind you it wouldnt stop them trying to register people who couldnt vote, like SF reps were trying to do in the last election (in my locality anyhow).

Lennoxschips

Undermines the secrecy of the ballot box.

Some people could be intimidated into voting for certain candidates, be brought to the polling station and go in and vote, but noone would be any the wiser as to who they voted for. With this system there isn't even that protection.

The same theoretical hole exists in the current system. What's to stop intimidating people into applying for postal ballots, and then telling them what to fill in?

johnlambe

Lennoxschips wrote:

The same theoretical hole exists in the current system. What's to stop intimidating people into applying for postal ballots, and then telling them what to fill in?

But most people can't get a postal ballot.