What Is Family Voting: Observers Flag High Levels at Gorton and Denton By-election as Reform UK Reports to Police
Nigel Farage has reported allegations of family voting at the Gorton and Denton by-election to Greater Manchester Police and the Electoral Commission, prompting calls for investigation after independent election observers recorded what they described as unusually high levels of the practice. The question what is family voting is now central to calls for a review of polling conduct, and to demands that authorities consider whether legal and procedural steps are required.
What Is Family Voting
Family voting is described as a situation in which a family member influences somebody else's vote, for example by entering the polling booth with them, or by accompanying voters into or near polling booths and directing their choice. The practice has been brought into sharper focus by the Ballot Secrecy Act enacted in 2023, which made such conduct more clearly a breach of the secret ballot framework.
Observer Findings from Democracy Volunteers
Democracy Volunteers, an accredited election observation group founded by Dr John Ault and supported by Prof Robert Haywood, deployed four accredited election observers across the constituency for the by-election. The team attended 22 of the 45 polling stations while polls were open, spending between 30 and 45 minutes in each location and working in pairs.
The observers reported 32 cases of apparent collusion in voting, which their organisation described as the highest levels in its 10-year history of observing elections. In the sample the team collected, they observed 545 voters casting ballots and concluded that 12% of those voters either directed or were affected by family voting. The observers said they saw family voting in 15 of the 22 polling stations they monitored, including nine cases in a single polling station. They translated their findings into a station-level rate for Gorton and Denton of family voting observed in 68% of polling stations sampled, compared with an example from Runcorn and Helsby where family voting was seen in 12% of polling stations and affected 1% of voters.
The observers also said signage discouraging the practice was present in only 45% of the polling stations they visited. Additional observations included voters being turned away because they were not registered to vote in Westminster elections — cited examples include people with EU citizenship who are eligible to vote only in local elections — and voters photographing their ballot papers. Observers noted one person being authorised to vote despite them already unclear in the provided context.
Reform UK Complaint and Calls for Investigation
Reform UK's leader has urged a full investigation after submitting a written complaint to the Electoral Commission and notifying Greater Manchester Police. The complaint requests that the elections watchdog launch a full inquiry, work with police with a view to prosecutions, and assess whether the extent of the irregularities is such that the validity of the election result may be called into question. Reform UK finished second to the Green Party at the by-election, beaten by more than 4, 000 votes, and the party leader characterised the situation as demonstrating sectarian voting and cheating.
Official Responses and Local Authorities
The Electoral Commission said it took the claims very seriously and would carefully consider the report, and noted it was in close contact with the returning officer and Greater Manchester Police to speedily and carefully review the concerns and all the information available. Greater Manchester Police has confirmed that a report has been made and that it is in the process of reviewing the matter, with a further update to be provided in due course.
Manchester city council noted that its staff had been trained to look for evidence of voter interference and that no concerns had been raised with them while polls were open.
Political Reactions and Wider Context
Reactions across parties varied. A Green Party spokesperson rejected the criticisms as an attempt to undermine the democratic result and framed the by-election victory as historic and achieved by a comfortable margin, adding that the result demonstrated Greens can beat Reform despite large donations to the latter. The Green Party leader said he would back an investigation. The Labour party chair described the reports as extremely worrying and said evidence and the observer report would need to be seen before determining what authorities should do. The Reform UK chair characterised electoral fraud as a stain on democracy and said the matter should be reported and handled fairly.
Democracy Volunteers describes itself as a non-partisan domestic election observation organisation committed to improving the security and accessibility of elections in the UK and abroad, and has previously observed the 2024 general election in 204 parliamentary constituencies and more than 1, 000 polling stations. Accredited election observers are entitled by law to attend polling stations and vote counts, and must adhere to a code of practice requiring political impartiality; accreditation checks include review of political activity and may be revoked if impartiality is not maintained.
What Happens Next
Authorities are reviewing the complaints and the observer material. The Electoral Commission and Greater Manchester Police have signalled further review steps, and Reform UK has urged pursuit of prosecutions if justified. The broader debate over what is family voting and how to deter it in future elections is likely to continue, with calls for clearer signage, enforcement of secrecy protections, and consideration of whether procedural or legal measures are required. The situation remains under review and details may evolve as investigations proceed. Separately, a senior political figure has said they will fight on after the by-election defeat to the Greens.
