Voting documents for the upcoming referendum and local council elections are being illegally left with neighbours as well as tenants of registered document holders, The Malta Independent has learnt.

A source told this newspaper that the voting documents belonging to her and her husband were left with a neighbour while they were away at work. The police officer, however, went back to her house the day after to ensure they got the votes, and asked them to sign for them.

Another source explained that her voting document was left with a tenant at an apartment which she owns, but rents out. In this case, the tenant was asked to sign for her landlady. The source explained that a while ago, she had changed her ID card address to where she now resides, but for some reason the vote was delivered to the apartment she rents out.

In comments to this newspaper, Chief Electoral Commissioner Joseph Church said that such cases are definitely not acceptable, and if the commission receives such complaints from the vote holder, immediate action will be taken. He explained that the commission has always taken complaints seriously, and when such allegations are made, the case is forwarded to the police for an internal investigation, and the police officer in question is suspended from their post until investigations are complete.

Asked whether the commission has received complaints on the cases mentioned above, Mr Church said that the commission will not comment on the referendum or local council election, but will do its utmost to ensure that any complaints are dealt with expediently.

Article 46 of the General Elections Act states that “the voting document shall be served on each voter by a police officer or by any other person appointed for the purpose by the Commission, and such document shall be deemed to have been served by delivery to the person to whom it is addressed, or to an adult person, who either resides at the same address or is in his employment, at the address of the voter as shown in the Electoral Register.”

In addition, political parties have the right to each nominate one representative to accompany each police officer or other persons handing out the voting documents.

The article continues that when officers are unable to pass on the voting document to its holder, mostly because the holder is not at home during multiple visits, they are to publish a list containing the names, identity card number and addresses of the holders in the government gazette, stating the reason why the vote was not delivered.

Any person who does not receive their voting document and whose name appears in the list published may, up to the Thursday preceding the polling day, appear personally before one of the Commissioners or other person appointed by the Commission to act on behalf of the Commissioners and claim delivery of the document.

A few weeks ago, head of the Labour Party’s electoral commission, Joseph Falzon, was charged with the unlawful possession of someone else's general election voting documents and two police officers were charged with giving the vote to someone else rather than the registered voter. 

In court, it was revealed that when the vote holder Benedict Grech did not receive his vote, he visited the police office to pick it up, but he was told it had already been collected. He then realised that the signature beside his name was not his.

Soon after, Mr Grech received a call from Mr Falzon asking to meet him next to the Gzira stadium for his voting documents. The two met and when the PL’s electoral head could not justify how he was in possession of his voting documents, Mr Grech filed a written complaint with the Electoral Commission and investigations were initiated.

Proceedings are still under way.