It’s happening again. On Thursday we’ll be heading to the polling booths to cast our vote in the 2019 general election .
Social media has been boiling over with those giving their views and trying to persuade us to vote for one party or the other, from both politicians and the public.
As many very publicly voice their support, others prefer to keep their vote to themselves – and there are strict laws in place to ensure votes can remain private.
It means nobody should be able to find out who you voted for, unless you decide to tell them.
In theory, someone with access to both the ballot papers and registration numbers for any given constituency could trace individual votes – but is this possible?
(Image: Getty)
Under the Representation of the People Act 1983, ballot papers and marked copies of the electoral register have to be safely deposited with the Government.
To ensure any allegations of corrupt or illegal practices which may come to light after an election can be properly investigated, our papers are sealed and kept in storage for one year.
Once this time elapses and all is well, our voting cards are sent to be incinerated and destroyed, meaning there will be no lasting record of how you voted.
It has previously been suggested that, because it is theoretically possible to trace votes back to an individual, the secret services could use ballot information to keep tabs on supporters of ‘extremist’ parties.
Any attempts to link ballot papers to voters is strictly illegal, and the seal on the documents can only be broken by order of the High Court or Parliament.
So if you want to keep the way you voted a secret, you can rest assured that laws are in place to keep it that way. Or you can post about it online. The choice is yours.
