The number of proxy voters in Fermanagh and South Tyrone (FST) was consistently higher than any other Northern Ireland constituency in recent Assembly and General elections.

The DUP, UUP and SDLP have told The Impartial Reporter that there is a need for “rigorous” assessment of proxy and postal applications in the wake of the surge, which one political commentator described as “an alarm bell.” 

Meanwhile, a Sinn Féin spokeswoman said: “The real concern about the electoral system is the fact that 60,000 people were unfairly and undemocratically removed from the electoral register last year and almost 4,000 people were turned away from the polls in March as a result.”

Chief Electoral Officer for Northern Ireland Virginia McVea urged parties to get in touch with her to voice their concerns. She told The Impartial Reporter: "I have met recently with representatives of parties in relation to concerns around the increase in proxies and would welcome any further meeting requests.

"Please let me know the concerns raised with you. Voters are entitled to apply for an absent vote and there is no threshold as to how many can apply. The legal requirement is that we are satisfied on the balance of probabilities that the person cannot reasonably be expected to attend the allocated polling station."

Proxy voters have been described as “pure gold for party campaigners in close constituencies.” They are appointed to vote on behalf of someone who “cannot reasonably be expected to go to the polling station”, for example, a person with a disability or in poor health, a student or someone who has literacy problems.

Concerns were raised by the DUP and the SDLP last week when it emerged that there had been a 49 per cent increase in the number of proxy voters appointed across Northern Ireland between the May 2016 and March 2017 Assembly Elections; up from 6,644 to 9,920. 
The DUP said it saw “little rational explanation” for the surge and Arlene Foster met with Electoral Office officials to seek clarification. 
SDLP Leader Colum Eastwood tweeted that the SDLP “hasn’t been orchestrating” the increase in proxy voters.

FST had the highest number of proxies in 2017 (1,557). It also had the highest number of proxies in the 2016 Assembly Election (1,330 ) and in the 2015 General Election (1,454.) 

At the time of going to press, the Electoral Office was not in a position to provide the number of proxies appointed for the June 8 General Election.
Speaking to The Impartial Reporter as he visited Enniskillen this week, Lewis Baston, a writer on elections for The Democratic Audit and The Guardian newspaper, commented: “Proxy votes are pure gold for party campaigners in close constituencies.
“FST is particularly fertile ground because turnout is high and there are not many floating voters. 

“If they can get proxy votes for their harder-to-reach supporters, they can bank those votes and spend the campaign finding other voters. 
Proxy voting “is particularly reliable if the people entrusted with the proxy are known supporters of the party,” Mr. Baston continued.
He believes that election officials need to “take a close look” at the proxy application forms because the process “can potentially be a way of committing electoral fraud and to exercise control over votes.”
Quintin Oliver is Director of Stratagem political consultancy. 
He believes that the following questions need to be answered before a proxy application is approved: “Did the person give their vote away? 
“Were they under the impression that they were applying for a postal vote? 

“Were they intimidated and feeling that they had to show the person on the doorstep that they were a supporter of that party?”
He explained that a postal vote will normally be posted to an elector before polling day so they can cast their vote and post (or hand deliver) it back to the Area Office, but the proxy vote “will be authorised to your proxy and that’s where it could be open to abuse.”

Mr. Oliver noted that political parties in Northern Ireland have “a high level of sophistication” when it comes to vote management.
He concluded: “Having 2-3,000 votes in the bag by postal or proxy votes makes it easier for the candidate to concentrate on the waverers, which can make a difference in a seat like FST where four votes can count.
“The surge in proxy voters is not necessarily abuse, it’s an alarm bell.”

A Sinn Féin spokeswoman stated: “Sinn Féin encourages everyone to make sure they use their vote and avail of their right to either postal or proxy votes. 
“It is interesting that a party which once campaigned for the right to vote now want to make it more difficult for people to express their democratic right.”

A UUP spokesman said: “If there is any evidence that the growth in proxy votes in Fermanagh and South Tyrone or any other constituency is due to the process being exploited or electoral rules broken to gain unfair advantage, then there must be a rigorous investigation. 
“If the existing rules leave room for abuse then they must be tightened up.”

An SDLP spokesman commented: “The use of postal and proxy voting is a critical part of our democracy but there’s a clear need for more rigorous verification of proxy vote applications to eliminate opportunities for abuse. 
“The current process doesn’t even require a photographic ID check with the applicant.”

A DUP spokeswoman stated: “Every person and party will support the right of people to exercise their democratic franchise.
“However it is interesting to note the surge in proxy and postal votes in the last Assembly election.
“We want to see rigorous assessment of proxy and postal application to ensure the electoral contest is fair and beyond any potential rigging.”