Personation refers to a form of cheating which involves someone pretending to be someone else, and voting in that other person's name. Personation may occur in a number of circumstances. If the death of an elector has been concealed from the electoral authorities, and the name of the dead person has been retained on the electoral register, someone else may vote in the name of the deceased. The false voter will then know with certainty that the real voter will not turn up to vote (unless someone else has personated him already!). Personation may also occur when an voter is known to be away, or if the true voter is prevented by force from visiting the polling place.
A method of deterring personation is to require every voter to present some official form of identification (such as a passport, driving licence, or another official document). In some jurisdictions, a document is accepted for identification purposes only if it includes a photograph of the bearer. A further device intended to control personation is to issue each voter with a voter card that includes a photograph. Voters who show up at the poll without their cards are then not allowed to cast their votes. This method deters personation, but may introduce a new method of electoral bribery. For example, according to reports in Mauritius about the conduct of elections in nearby Reunion, party organizations in Reunion paid voters to surrender their voter cards for the period of the poll. These payments were normally made in geographical areas where an opposing party was known to be popular. This prevented voters who were likely to vote for the opposing from casting their ballots.
In the next few years, new technologies will probably make personation much harder. It is becoming possible to include electronic information on electoral registers that will reliably identify voters, even those without identity papers. For instance, signatures, fingerprints, and photographs may be scanned onto the registers to be used by officials at each polling place.
Existing penalties for personation include:
Britain
This is categorized as a corrupt practice. (see Severity of offences) A person convicted on indictment for personation, or aiding, abetting, counselling or procuring the offence of personation, is liable to imprisonment for up to two years, a fine, or both.98
Mauritius
The maximum penalty is imprisonment for up to two years. In addition, the convicted person is banned for seven years from registering to vote, from voting, from being a candidate, or, if elected before his conviction, of retaining his seat.99
Mexico
A fine of 10 to 100 days of the minimum wage plus imprisonment of 6 months to 3 years.100
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