Scandal-hit London borough is one of several local authority areas selected to trial a package of anti-fraud measures

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Postal voters in the scandal-hit London borough of Tower Hamlets are to be closely monitored as part of new pilot schemes designed to stamp out electoral fraud, a government minister has said.

Chris Skidmore, the minister for the constitution, said a package of measures would be introduced across several local authorities in May as the government experimented with new systems to ensure only those entitled to vote did so.

They include Tower Hamlets, as well as Watford in Hertfordshire, where voters will be asked to present poll cards marked with barcodes.

Ministers would later decide which of the measures to introduce nationwide, Skidmore said.

Postal voters will also be selected at random in Tower Hamlets and other selected councils and will be asked if they received applications. There will be restrictions on how many postal vote packs campaigners are allowed to handle.

The move follows complaints the postal vote system has been used to farm votes in the past, particularly among minority ethnic communities.

Tower Hamlets was placed into special measures in 2015 after the former mayor Lutfur Rahman was found guilty of electoral fraud.

Skidmore detailed the plans before the launch on Tuesday of the National Democracy Week Council, made up of organisations from across the civil society sector.

The new details will cause some anger among Labour and Liberal Democrat MPs. Both parties have expressed concerns that such initiatives could lead to greater disenfranchisement among poor and minority ethnic communities.

Skidmore told the Guardian: “A new initiative to stamp out postal vote fraud will be trialled across Britain this spring including postal vote pilots.

“Postal voters will be tracked, they will be selected at random and contacted to make sure they received their postal votes. We will also be looking at how we put a cap on the number of completed postal vote packs that campaigners can handle.”

This month, Sir John Holmes, the chair of the Electoral Commission, said requiring photographic ID was vital if the government was to stamp out postal vote fraud.

Reports of alleged electoral fraud through impersonation more than doubled between 2014 and 2016, according to the Electoral Commission, but other campaigners voiced concerns that the scheme would be a barrier to voting.

Skidmore said the government did want some form of ID to be introduced but had not yet decided if it should be photographic.

“We will also be looking at the legislative means of introducing that and trialling forms of ID for voters. Some will be photographic and some non-photographic,” he said. “Watford will be taking forward a poll card that has a barcode down the bottom which you can scan through.”

Voters in Woking, Gosport, Bromley and Slough are also expected to take part in different schemes.

“We want to use evidence-based policy process here to make sure which are the best forms of photo ID to use. The aim is to stop disenfranchisement. If people feel electoral fraud is an issue, it erodes confidence in people wanting to participate in our democracy,” Skidmore said.

The Lib Dem MP Tom Brake has previously called requirements for photo ID “a completely unnecessary move that risks undermining our democracy by preventing millions of people from voting”.

Brake said there was widespread evidence it led to even lower turnouts from young voters and minority groups.