Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateGordon Birtwistle
Main Page: Gordon Birtwistle (Liberal Democrat - Burnley)Department Debates - View all Gordon Birtwistle's debates with the Cabinet Office
(13 years, 10 months ago)
Commons ChamberI do not think I am making the system more complex. It makes the system more complex if there is just one ballot box for two completely different sets of propositions. There will be two different electoral registers—we will come to the issue of electoral registers later—and those who can vote in one ballot will not be the same as those who can vote in another. To make sure that the ballot is correct, and that people are not given ballot papers when they are not entitled to them, and to make sure that the administration of the counting of the votes can take place properly, it would be better to have separate ballot boxes.
I dread dragging the debate on any longer than is necessary, but in Burnley at the election in May we had one ballot box for both the local election ballot papers and the general election ballot papers. It caused no trouble whatever. If we had two boxes, the reconciliation of the ballot papers in either box would require them all to be emptied out, because people will make mistakes. I can see no sense in having various ballot boxes. The present system has worked for years. Why change it now?