General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: GOD DAMN IT!!!!! [View all]Denzil_DC
(7,233 posts)Votes are counted by hand (though in exceptional cases electronic tallying has been used, for instance in complex London elections, but there's always the backup of hand recounting if it's called for, as the votes are on paper).
Returning officers, voting officers etc. are usually council officials and employees from across the political board (in the case of those doing the counting, they're often bank tellers, as they're used to shuffling paper quickly and systematically). They have to swear an oath and sign the Official Secrets Act. Also, agents from the interested parties are present at the vote, free to wander around and observe proceedings, and can challenge any irregularities. The papers from the vote will be stored under seal (usually for a year and a day) in case questions arise after the event. This includes not just the individual ballots, but all the lists and accompanying paperwork from each polling station that can be cross-tabulated if necessary.
Electoral shenanigans aren't impossible, but there's a paper trail, a wide variety of people are involved at each stage, and in practice few votes in the UK are seriously contested, and there's a big fuss whenever it happens. For instance, in Glasgow they've detected 10 cases of "personation" during yesterday's poll (the old "vote early, vote often" thing), but that's a minuscule percentage of the Glasgow electorate, a stupid way to try to finagle as the penalties are severe for next to no return, and in this case it was easily detected.
Like it or not, there's no reason to assume this result's illegitimate.