Police investigate potential electoral fraud in Glasgow

Police Scotland is investigating potential electoral fraud in Glasgow.

Four uniformed officers, wearing blue gloves, entered the count at the city’s Emirates Arena to remove ballot papers at around 11pm.

The action was taken after the returning officer reported four cases of suspected “personation” – when there have been two apparent attempts to vote using the same identification.

Officers originally only requested one of these ballots, but later returned to request a further two. They were able to pinpoint the polling station at which the votes had been cast, leading to minimal disruption to the count.

It comes as all six Glasgow constituencies were predicted to be won by Labour from the SNP. The city was a Labour stronghold until the party lost almost all its seats north of the border in the 2015 election.

If it wins back Glasgow, it will be seen as a historic return for Sir Keir Starmer’s party to the Scottish heartlands. Exit polls predicted the SNP could win just 10 seats in Westminster.

According to the Electoral Management Board for Scotland, “personation is an electoral offence where a person votes for another person or their proxy without lawful authority.  This offence applies regardless if the person or the proxy being personated is living, dead or fictitious”.

In advice for returning officers, it says that “in many cases the cause may be the result of a clerk marking off the wrong voter from the register. However, there may be occasions on which the issue may be an attempt at personation to effect electoral fraud”.

After polling closed on Thursday, the Returning Officer alerted Police Scotland to four suspected cases of personation.

Uniformed officers then attended the count to remove one ballot paper and then requested the further two. One was from polling stations in West Glasgow and the other two were from stations in South West Glasgow.

Sources said that it was understood police did not believe that there was any suspicious activity relating to the fourth report.

The officers remained on the counting floor of the Emirates Arena for just over half an hour, having arrived just before 11pm. They were seen waiting to remove the suspicious papers as they were tipped onto the counting table before they were added to the totals. It is unclear whether the votes will be cleared to be included in the final polls.

Police Scotland has been contacted for comment.