Election Corruption is nothing new!
In the 19th century, elections were often subject to a number of corrupt practices. Parliament attempted to address these practices by passing a series of Acts to improve, monitor and regulate voting conditions and practices across the country.
The Representation of the People Act 1832
Commonly known as the first Reform Act or the Great Reform Act, the Act reapportioned constituencies to address the unequal distribution of seats and expanded the right to vote by broadening and standardising the property qualifications which varied greatly among boroughs.
For the first time small landowners, tenant farmers, shopkeepers, householders who paid a yearly rental of £10 or more and some lodgers were now eligible to vote.
There had been calls for reform long before 1832, but without success. The Act granted seats in the House of Commons to large cities that had sprung up during the Industrial Revolution, and removed seats from the “rotten boroughs”: those with very small electorates and usually dominated by a wealthy patron. The Act also increased the electorate from about 400,000 to 650,000, making about one in five adult males eligible to vote.
The Act also introduced the first explicit statutory bar to women voting by defining a voter as a male person. Before 1832 there were occasional, although rare, instances of women voting.
While limited change was achieved, for many it did not go far enough. The property qualifications meant that the majority of working men still could not vote. But it had been proved that change was possible and over the next decades the call for further parliamentary reform continued.
Parliamentary Elections Act, 1868
Officially titled “An Act for amending the Laws relating to Election Petitions, and providing more effectually for the Prevention of corrupt Practices at Parliamentary Elections”, the Parliamentary Elections Act (1868) changed the way in which election petitions were tried.
Responsibility for trying election petitions transferred from the House of Commons to the High Court of Justice. Courts were seen as being less biased in the decisions they made. Assessors of a petition visited a constituency, took evidence and determined the outcome, reporting back to the House of Commons. Evidence was transferred to the House of Commons with Judge’s reports, which was discussed by the House of Commons.
Ballot Act, 1872
Officially titled “An Act to amend the Law relating to Procedure at Parliamentary and Municipal Elections”, the Ballot Act (1872) attempted to deal with bad electoral practices by introducing the secret ballot. This meant voters could vote in private without being intimidated into voting for a particular party. It also meant that it was harder for bribers to ensure that voters did as requested.
Corrupt and Illegal Practices Act, 1883
Officially titled “An Act for the better prevention of Corrupt and Illegal Practices at Parliamentary Elections”, the Corrupt and Illegal Practices Act (1883) criminalised attempts to bribe voters, with more severe fines and in some cases imprisonment set as punishment. The act also standardised the amount of money that could be spent on election expenses and what expenses could be spent on.
Any candidate found guilty of corruption could not stand for election for a further 7 years and could never stand in the same constituency again. As a result of this Act the average election expenditure of candidates fell significantly and allegations of illegal acts during elections also declined.