Democracy Volunteers has been observing elections in the UK for 10 years. We see breaches of the secret ballot across the UK and we think it is important to explain more about it and how it should be possible to limit or prevent it.
What is the secret ballot? Introduced in 1872, the secret ballot removed the public declaration of a voter’s intention. Previously, voters were required to announce or evidence by showing through hands, who they were supporting. As a consequence of open voting, men who rented their homes, or relied on a local employer for work, had to vote as the property owner or employer wished them to vote (The Gazette).
However, breaches of the secret ballot still exist and following reports from Democracy Volunteers, and others, the Ballot Secrecy Act was passed in 2023, with all-party support through Parliament, despite the secret ballot having been law since 1872. This made it clearer that influencing another person at a polling booth was an offence and potentially imprisonable. Signage is now available to Returning Officers to display in polling stations and Presiding Officers have more clarity of the legal position.
People ask us if seeking assistance from another person is a breach of the secret ballot, for example if they have issues with their sight – this is not a breach, as long as that assistance is approved by the staff in the polling station or given by the staff. Voters discussing their voting intention, if the secret ballot is not broken, does also not constitute a breach.
We also observe elections abroad, and have observed the problem in many other jurisdictions. Our international experience has shown us ways that other countries try to maintain the secrecy of the ballot. Signage helps, but it is not the only tool available to election teams to prevent breaches.
It is often forgotten by those engaged with politics and elections that most people go to the polls once every four years and it is often in unfamiliar buildings and doing something out of the ordinary.
Managing the flow of electors (people who have yet to vote) is fundamental to organising a polling station. Clear signage on arrival, explaining the process, having a clear route by which a voter moves through the polling station, something like the arrows seen on the ground during Covid, helps people navigate the polling station.
But also ensuring that the infrastructure of the polling station is robust helps. In other countries, many polling stations have booths with curtains, voters are guided by a designated member of staff to their own individual polling booth, the curtain is closed behind them, and they vote in secret. They then place it in the ballot box and leave the polling station.
It’s simple – with greater investment in elections, supporting those that run them in councils, this should be possible in the UK.
Democracy Volunteers identify breaches of the secret ballot through our polling station assessments on polling day. These observations are conducted through an internationally accepted methodology, using the four eyes principle to ensure validity of findings. Observers receive extensive training on electoral legislation, practices, and observation techniques prior to polling day. All of our observations abide by the Electoral Commission’s Code of Practice and the Declaration of Global Principles for Nonpartisan Election Observation and Monitoring by Citizen Organisations through our membership of the Global Network of Domestic Election Monitors.
In the 2024 UK general election Democracy Volunteers observed breaches of the secret ballot in 21% of polling stations, with 3.5% of all the voters we observed causing, or being affected by it.
In 2025 we observed elections in other countries. In Norway, we saw it in 16% of polling stations, in Finland 12% and in the Netherlands it was also 12%. It is an international issue, not just a UK one.
Of the 204 constituencies observed by Democracy Volunteers at the 2024 UK General Election we saw the problem in 116 constituencies, these can be seen here.
