Voting in an Election

Insist on Free and Fair Elections

Transparent ballet boxes are not a new thing, the one pictured here was used around the year 1884.

Transparent ballet boxes, which will be used in Malaysia for the first time, 124 years later, in the next general election, do not of course mean that the voting process and the electoral procedures will be truly transparent

Transparent ballot boxes are only used in order for enable people to witness that the box is empty prior to the start of the election (i.e. not pre- stuffed with fraudulent votes.)

Ballot stuffing is the illegal act of a person submitting multiple ballots during a vote in which only one ballot per person is permitted. The term 'Ballot Stuffing' originates from the earliest days of this despicable practice in which people literally did stuff more than one ballot in a ballot box at the same time. In a government election, this is one form of electoral fraud.

Detecting ballot-stuffing depends upon how good the record-keeping and the electoral supervision is. The efficient independent observation of an election can help to detect procedural malpractices and electoral fraud, the intimidation of voters, illegal canvassing of voters, and other election offences.

Most elections implement systems which match the number of persons turning up to vote with the number of ballots cast, and also prepare the ballot papers so as to ensure that they are difficult to fake, successful ballot-stuffing usually requires the misconduct of genuine registered voters and/or election personnel.

Ballot-stuffing can be accomplished in many ways, for example:-

A ballot-stuffer may cast votes on the behalf of any voters who did not show up to vote at the polling station (vote telegraphing); sometimes, votes will even be cast by 'those who are long dead’ or by ‘fictitious characters in TV shows, books, and films (vote padding).

In some societies, dead people (phantom voters) are kept "alive" on paper, or are "resurrected" for the purpose of ballot-stuffing. The family of the deceased often helps in this type of election fraud, either to assist their chosen political party, or to receive a monetary pay off.

The use of indelible ink to mark the fingers of those who have cast their vote has long been practised, but usually in third world countries. Malaysia is introducing such a finger nail marking system in the next general election, the rather rude photograph (below), showing how the indelible ink mark will be made, was published in the local print media recently.

Postal voting, may, unless it is carried out in transparent and well regulated manner and is independently supervised, be another way that election irregularities and fraud can take easily place.

Everyone one must play their part in ensuring that an election is free and fair.

An unfair and fettered election is certainly not democratic, and any governments elected by means such elections can never be regarded as democratic governments.

Afiyæt oslun!