Rejected ballot papers in the 2007 Scottish Parliament election: the voters' perspective
Rejected ballot papers in the 2007 Scottish Parliament election: the voters' perspective
Although there were a number of other administrative problems, the unusually large number of ballots rejected in the 2007 Scottish Parliament elections attracted considerable media interest and comment and provoked a special enquiry by the Electoral Commission. It is generally accepted that the new design of the ballot paper was the major factor in causing problems and that these problems were greatest in less well-off areas. So far, however, little attention has been paid to the views and perceptions of electors, especially with reference to the question of the legitimacy of elections. Analysis of specially collected survey data shows that the voters recognised that there were serious problems in the elections and, although offering a variety of explanations, tended to blame the authorities. Trust in the fairness of the electoral process has been reduced by the experience and this may result in reduced voter participation in future.
Elections, Rejected ballots, Scottish Parliament
3-21
Denver, David
e78fe029-445d-4841-a29f-c44495bb0828
Johns, Robert
cbf71dfd-ff61-43dc-99f0-b196f60f6ac3
Carman, Christopher
c62d237b-85a0-43ff-8e49-87e908bfbe5e
April 2009
Denver, David
e78fe029-445d-4841-a29f-c44495bb0828
Johns, Robert
cbf71dfd-ff61-43dc-99f0-b196f60f6ac3
Carman, Christopher
c62d237b-85a0-43ff-8e49-87e908bfbe5e
Denver, David, Johns, Robert and Carman, Christopher
(2009)
Rejected ballot papers in the 2007 Scottish Parliament election: the voters' perspective.
British Politics, 4 (1), .
(doi:10.1057/bp.2008.29).
Abstract
Although there were a number of other administrative problems, the unusually large number of ballots rejected in the 2007 Scottish Parliament elections attracted considerable media interest and comment and provoked a special enquiry by the Electoral Commission. It is generally accepted that the new design of the ballot paper was the major factor in causing problems and that these problems were greatest in less well-off areas. So far, however, little attention has been paid to the views and perceptions of electors, especially with reference to the question of the legitimacy of elections. Analysis of specially collected survey data shows that the voters recognised that there were serious problems in the elections and, although offering a variety of explanations, tended to blame the authorities. Trust in the fairness of the electoral process has been reduced by the experience and this may result in reduced voter participation in future.
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e-pub ahead of print date: 24 March 2009
Published date: April 2009
Keywords:
Elections, Rejected ballots, Scottish Parliament
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 489796
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/489796
ISSN: 1746-918X
PURE UUID: ca6c509e-a541-4a50-b100-556f04a0d7e2
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Date deposited: 02 May 2024 16:37
Last modified: 02 May 2024 16:37
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Author:
David Denver
Author:
Robert Johns
Author:
Christopher Carman
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