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The local authority in charge of the Gorton and Denton by-election has called on a group which raised concerns over voter fraud in the poll to share its evidence.
Manchester City Council said on Tuesday that it had asked election monitors Democracy Volunteers for a report “detailing their claims and any evidence” over the allegations around last week’s vote, but had not yet received the information.
Democracy Volunteers issued a statement on Thursday night after polling had closed, saying that it had observed “concerningly high levels of family voting” that day, an illegal practice in which people directly influence the voting decisions of relatives.
It prompted Reform UK, which came second behind the Green Party in the by-election, to report the claims to Greater Manchester Police and to the Electoral Commission.
Democracy Volunteers said that it would be contacting Manchester City Council, the authority legally responsible for overseeing the election’s integrity, as well as the Electoral Commission “to discuss our observations”.
A spokesperson for the acting returning officer of Manchester City Council said: “We have asked Democracy Volunteers to provide our elections team with a report detailing their claims and any evidence supporting them so we can review it. We have also asked them to share this with Greater Manchester Police.
“We have not yet received any such information.”
In a statement on its website, updated on Tuesday, Democracy Volunteers said it had contacted the council the day after the by-election “to discuss our findings”, but that this request was declined.
The council spokesperson said: “While there is an ongoing police investigation, it would not be appropriate for us to meet with the group.”
Thursday’s vote was the culmination of a divisive campaign that included several complaints to Greater Manchester Police over the way in which political parties had conducted themselves under electoral law.
Three such complaints remain under investigation, including the one prompted by the claims of “family voting” and two against the Labour Party.
In its initial statement, issued shortly after polls closed on Thursday, Democracy Volunteers’ chief executive John Ault said that four election observers, accredited by the Electoral Commission, had observed “the highest levels of family voting at any election in our 10-year history of observing elections in the UK”.
They observed family voting, in which a person was allegedly seen to collude, confer or direct a relative’s vote, in 15 out of 22 of the polling stations they had visited, he said.
At the time, a spokesperson for the council said no such issues had been reported to its polling station staff and described it as “extremely disappointing that Democracy Volunteers have waited until after polls have closed to make such claims”.
Greater Manchester Police has said it is reviewing Reform’s submission and its investigations remain ongoing.
The Electoral Commission said on Tuesday it was in contact with Democracy Volunteers, but declined to say whether the group had requested a meeting or submitted evidence.
“We take allegations of family voting very seriously. It is a criminal offence to attempt to pressure someone to vote in a certain way,” a spokesperson said.
“We are in close contact with the returning officer and Greater Manchester Police to speedily and carefully review the concerns that have been raised and all the information available.”