Electoral fraud

Electoral fraud is when someone deliberately tries to cheat at an election.

It can include:

• influencing someone to vote against their will
• pretending to be someone else and using their vote
• offering an incentive to someone either to get them to vote, to vote a certain way, or to stop them from voting
• interfering with postal votes
• registering to vote under a false name or without someone’s consent
• making false statements about the personal character of a candidate
• including false statements or signatures on a candidate’s nomination forms

Election fraud is a serious issue – offenders can be sent to prison.

Reporting electoral fraud

If you believe you have witnessed electoral fraud, or are concerned that it may be taking place, you should report it. You can:

• phone the police on 101
• contact Crimestoppers anonymously online, or by phoning 0800 555 111

When you report electoral fraud to the police

If you report electoral fraud to the police, you should ask for the Election Single Point of Contact (SPOC) for your area.

The SPOC will ask about what you saw or the concerns you have, including any evidence you may have. You should be prepared to make a statement and to provide evidence to support your allegation. The SPOC will ask for your contact details in case they need to contact you for more information and so they can let you know the outcome of their investigation.

When you report electoral fraud to Crimestoppers

If you report electoral fraud to Crimestoppers, you will be asked for details about the electoral fraud you have witnessed or the concerns you have. You can report anonymously, which means you won’t have to give your details if you don’t want to.

If you're not sure

If you're not sure whether certain behaviour is allowed, you can contact us to ask. We have plans in place to check for suspicious behaviour.