X marks the spot.

The Electoral Commission has suggested that voters should have to prove their identity at the polling station before being allowed to vote (passport, driving license etc.).  We've talked about this before and, whilst a perfectly sensible idea, it completely ignores the main problem with electoral fraud, which is not people turning up at polling stations pretending to be someone else (I'm sure it happens, but very infrequently I would think).  No, the biggest problem is the postal vote. I'm simply rehashing what I've already said, but at the heart of our voting system is the principle of the secret ballot, and postal voting is just inherently incompatible with that, and I don't see any way of rectifying that situation.  If we are determined to expand the use of "home voting" then maybe we should look at mobile polling booths - like mobile libraries - which come round to your house and at least ensure that when you mark your cross you are on your own and nobody gets to know where you put it.