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Electoral Commission Report - Referendum


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http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/179812/Scottish-independence-referendum-report.pdf

I few interesting things I've picked up:

  • 3.77 For those people who reported having had enough information on the Yes and No campaigns to be able to cast their vote, the main source of their information came from TV (56%), internet (52%) and leaflets (34%). Perhaps unsurprisingly, those aged 55 and over were more likely to report that the TV was their main source of information while those in the age bands 16-34 and 35-43 reported the internet as their main source of information.
  • 4.27-28 While reported turnout from our 16-17 year old respondents was 75%, 97% of those who voted said they would vote again in the future and the remaining 3% answered ‘don’t know’. Of all our respondents, 60% said they would support a measure that allowed everyone to vote from the age of 16, with 43% strongly supporting the idea. Support was higher amongst ‘Yes’ voters (85%) than ‘No’ voters (40%) and 75% of 16 and 17 year olds also supported the measure.
  • 4.29-31 Reflecting previous public opinion research, the most common reasons given for voting related to a sense of ’civic responsibility’ (55%) but with lower levels from past post-election surveys. The results show a considerable increment of people who voted to ‘express their views’ (49%) and those people who wanted to ‘help create a change’ (31%) or ‘to keep the status quo’ (14%). Again reflecting other post-election surveys, 38% of all non-voters said circumstances prevented them from doing so (‘lack of time’ ‘I was busy on the day’) while a higher number of non-voters than in the past said they did not vote because of ‘administration issues’ (28%) such as ‘I was not registered’.
  • 4.65-66 Notwithstanding the above, 34% of respondents to our survey thought that fraud took place at the referendum, more than in any previous postelection survey. 12% said they thought it took place ‘a lot’ and 22% ‘a little’. Asked why they thought so, the main response was ‘I heard or saw stories in the media’. 36% gave this answer compared with 19% who gave this response after the European Parliamentary elections in May 2014 and 27% who responded in this way after the Council elections in May 2012. 14% thought fraud took place because voters did not have to provide identification in order to vote. Respondents who identified themselves as ‘Yes’ voters (42%) were considerably more likely to think fraud took place compared with No voters (21%).
  • 4.68-9 Just under a third of our survey respondents (32%) reported knowing hardly anything about fraud relating to elections and voting, with 16% saying that they knew nothing at all about the subject. This is a similar proportion to levels in May 2014 and 2011. While 73% of respondents said that they thought voting in general was safe from fraud and abuse, this figure is lower than the 78% figure from our survey in May 2014, 82% in May 2012 and 83% in May 2011. People generally think that voting in polling stations is safer from fraud and abuse (81%) than postal voting (59%). Although 82% of postal voters thought postal voting was safe.
  • 6.93-96 Significant media coverage was given to allegations that postal voting agents had “sampled” votes at postal vote opening sessions around the country in the days before polling day. The suggestion was that the agents, who were nominated by the registered campaign groups and permitted to attend the sessions to ensure the process was conducted appropriately, had been able to see the outcome for which votes had been cast. A significant number of people reported this matter to the Electoral Commission and/or the police at the time of the media/social media coverage of the issue. The Commission is unaware of any such allegation having been made by any person who was present at a postal vote opening session and, in fact, this issue came to light as a result of comments made during media coverage, by individuals affiliated to campaign groups. Schedule 7, Paragraph 7 of SIRA makes it an offence for a person attending a postal ballot opening session to attempt to ascertain the referendum outcome for which any vote is given in any particular ballot paper, or to communicate any such information which they have obtained during the session. At the referendum, as at all electoral events in the UK, it is a legal requirement for those attending a postal vote opening session to be provided with a copy of the requirements of secrecy in relation to the ballot. This matter is still under investigation by the police at time of writing and, therefore, it would not be appropriate for the Commission to comment further.
Edited by Clyde1998
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