The UK elections watchdog wants a system of checks to help verify the identity of voters and better policing of the system.

Police in several parts of the UK are investigating allegations of abuse of postal votes.

What do you think of the Electoral Commission's proposals to stop fraud? Do you trust the current postal voting system or do you think it needs improving?

This debate is now closed. You can read a selection of your comments below.

Postal voting increases turnout Steve Palmer, Watford, UK

The fact remains that postal voting increases turnout. It appears to me that many of those opposing postal voting don't want a higher turnout. No system of voting can be totally free of vote rigging - what you need is systems in place to minimise the risk, and the debate should be about that.
Steve Palmer, Watford, UK

No postal voting system can be free and fair as they can never rule out the possibility that somebody is being coerced or in some way forced into voting a certain way. The only way to prevent this from happening is to have everybody go alone into a polling booth and have total privacy and confidentiality when completing their ballot paper. Hang on a minute, isn't that precisely the system we did have before Labour came to power?
Joe, Newcastle-Under-Lyme

The present system ain't broke so don't fix it. A bit more honesty from politicians would create more interest.
Dave S, Warton, Carnforth, Lancs

It isn't just postal voting that needs a hammer taking to it Jennifer Hynes, Plymouth, UK

It should be scrapped altogether, never mind overhauled. As a pseudo-democracy, the UK is incapable of sustaining a fair and just process of voting using our postal services. Unluckily, we have one of the most interfering and devious states in the world, so it isn't just postal voting that needs a hammer taking to it, it's the whole electoral process, which is itself unfair, anachronistic and so open to abuse that the vast majority of voters are disappointed come the morning after the election.
Jennifer Hynes, Plymouth, UK

Why not telephone voting? People trust telephone banking, so there must already be workable systems for verification by phone.
Andrew Davie, Huntingdon, UK

It should not be beyond the wit of a modern day government to implement a system that somehow linked voting to passport issuance, ID cards, driving licences, NI numbers, tax returns, etc etc.
Milton, Bath, UK

I asked to be allowed a postal vote being disabled, but I never received it. Makes you wonder.
Roy, Manchester, UK

The sheer unreliability of postal deliveries in this country totally puts me off the idea Hannah, Milton Keynes

Another point that should be noted is that postal voting does not guarantee your vote will be counted. The sheer unreliability of postal deliveries in this country totally puts me off the idea. I would like to know how many postal votes were 'wasted' due to Royal Mail's inability to guarantee delivery.
Hannah, Milton Keynes

I think it's a well known fact that the postal voting system is rotten to the core. All parties 'use it to their advantage' in marginal seats. People should be forced to go out and vote unless they are physically incapable. Anything else invites fraud.
Stephen, Lincoln

I don't see any need for widespread postal voting. We already have mobile libraries and mobile medical facilities - why can't we have mobile polling stations? Or is that solution too easy and uncomplicated for the bureaucrats to cope with?
Chris B, Bedford, England

It shouldn't be made unattractive to apply for a postal vote. Electronic voting with PIN number will go a long way to removing fraud; you are sent your PIN number in the same way as a bank does and when you vote, if there has been any hanky panky in your name, you can immediately raise the problem with the returning officer.
David Ball, Wokingham, UK

Of course it should be overhauled and be much more tightly controlled. One solution would be to do what most other countries do vote on a Sunday.
Howard, Lincs, UK

The new system was badly thought through in the first place. It is shockingly open to abuse. They'd do better to abandon this system altogether and start with a blank sheet. More importantly though, the government is fooling itself if it thinks that postal voting is the panacea for low voter turnout. People aren't not voting because they can't be bothered to go to a polling station, but because they feel disconnected from the political process and the government which is supposed to represent them.
Katherine, London, UK

I don't see why there is such a furore about postal voting fraud in particular. I went to vote without taking my polling card and wasn't even asked for my name! It's so simple to fraudulently vote at a polling station that that needs to be closer checked as well. A friend who lives in a marginal area had exactly the same experience.
LS, Liverpool, UK

Something needs to change. I had a postal vote this year and a card to take to the polling station. If I did vote twice I wonder if I would have been caught. With thousands and thousands of votes made, it's a needle in a haystack trying to weed out the fraudsters. Perhaps a swipe card/barcode system to centralise the number of times a person has voted might be the way forward.
Tracey, Bristol, UK

Lack of security defeats the object of an increased turnout Ken, London, UK

It's the first ounce of sense I've heard from any watchdog in a long time. Under no circumstances should all-postal ballots be allowed without these changes and "No ID with your ballot, no vote at the station" is also another suggestion from the election period which would work. Lack of security defeats the object of an increased turnout.
Ken, London, UK

The law should be changed. No vote should be considered if it had been sent back to a political party. All postal votes, if they are to be considered as genuine, should only be accepted and approved by the returning officers approval. Sadly all the political parties in the UK seemed to totally ignore such rules. All trying to gain some advantage, but all, in my opinion, breaking the law. Why is it impossible for politicians, of whatever ilk, to tell the truth over such a simple issue?
Bob Beadman, Hong Kong

It might be better to abolish postal voting and instead when an individual is unable through disability to attend a polling station have an assistant returning officer come round with the ballot box to collect the vote. As for those whose work commitments or holiday arrangements preclude normal voting, they should be asked to attend at the local town hall at a convenient time before the election to cast their votes.
Megan, Cheshire, UK

With an already unfair electoral system, where the government rules with only 35% of the populations support, this is barely scratching the surface of electoral reforms needed.
John, Oldham, UK

No registration of electors will ever truly be foolproof until it's held on a national database accessible by all returning officers John Knight, Portsmouth

Postal votes may be highlighted, but as any student at uni will tell you the vast majority were registered at home and at the university. No registration of electors will ever truly be foolproof until it's held on a national database accessible by all returning officers and checked against votes cast. A good use for the ID card wouldn't you say?
John Knight, Portsmouth

As demonstrated in court, the current system cannot be trusted. It needs improving. Unfortunately, the government's lack of action before the general election, and it's inadequate response to the Electoral Commission's recommendations leads me to believe that the government will not put adequate safeguards in place. I may be cynical, but this then leads me to ask the question "Why does the Labour party want a flawed voting system"?
BF, London, UK

If voting day was made a day off from work then most applications for postal votes could be rejected on the basis that being lazy or working isn't an option.
Ben, Oxford, UK

In the last election I received two forms for postal voting plus the usual form so I could walk in the polling booths. I never requested the postal forms like the letters attached suggested which instantly suggest a scam in my books. If I had posted both forms I doubt that anyone would have noticed. One man, one vote no longer applies.
Lee, London

Postal voting should be restricted and closely monitored. The way to get more people to vote is to make voting compulsory. This, and the addition of a 'none of the above' box on the ballot form would provide a much clearer view of the electorate's views than what we get now. Non-voters should be fined and their right to vote withdrawn for a period.
Tim, Birmingham, UK

With polling stations open from 0700 till 2200, is there any real need for anyone to post their vote apart from the very infirm or those who are away on business/holiday? I'd also like to see those of us who do turn up to vote having to produce some sort of ID too.
Ken, North Tyneside

Such fraud will only be the tip of the iceberg especially with plans for e-mail and text voting Niall Wilson, Linlithgow, Scotland

Such fraud will only be the tip of the iceberg especially with plans for e-mail and text voting. We should understand however there are bound to be difficulties and with so much at stake the temptation for fraud will always be there.
Niall Wilson, Linlithgow, Scotland

It's not just the postal voting that needs to be overhauled its the whole system of voting! My brother, despite changing his address would have been able to register at our old address (where I still had to vote). He voted at his new address, he also received a postal vote to his current address and had another voting card sent to his boarding school. He could well have voted four times, needless to say he didn't, but the opportunity was there. The whole system is in shambles. It also strikes me as amazing that we don't have to show any ID to vote - I had to show more identification to obtain a library card!
Anon, Berkshire, UK