THE ongoing postal vote discussion has brought Aberdeen Independence Movement (AIM) strongly out in favour of encouraging people to use theirs if they can.

Under the heading “Turn Your Post Box Into A Ballot Box” their website states: “Scotlands future depends on all of us taking part in the democratic process.

“In the midst of this pandemic, this is the best way to make sure that your voice is heard. It’s a simple process, just click the link below, fill in the postal vote registration form and send it to your local electoral registration office.”

You can see the link on the AIM website but here it is for National readers – www.mygov.scot/register-to-vote-scotland.

AIM say: “You can also register to vote, or check that you are registered, via this link.

“If the last year has taught us anything, it’s to take nothing for granted – including democracy. Whoever you vote for, please just make sure that you do vote.

“I for one am hoping that we won’t have to press pause on democracy: let’s turn our postboxes into ballot boxes!”

There is also a video on the website which is well worth viewing if you have any doubts about the postal voting system.

One person with a doubt is Robert Leckie who wrote: “The last postal vote I saw was when I was asked to help, the tear off bit or folded bit did not fit in the envelope, why was this?

“As an engineer I can assure you that the gum line would have to be broken to follow the instructions exactly, I did question this and was told it’s OK to fold it contrary to instructions. I mention it here as an example of the possibility to accidentally spoil ballots. There is no way this would not have been checked so why was it allowed. We need a secure voting system and our ideas should be listened to or have a think tank specifically for this along the lines of us all having a unique block chain identifier used on every ballot like a serial [number] receipt. It is possible for all documents and boxes to be cloned.”

We remind you of the Electoral Commissions report last month. They reported: “Voting in a polling place remains the preferred option among a majority of voters but we once again found that there is likely to be an increase in the proportion of voters opting to use a postal vote at the 2021 Scottish Parliament election compared to previous polls.

“77% of eligible electors would feel safe voting in person at a polling place with appropriate hygiene measures and physical distancing in place. 16% said they would feel unsafe.

“The preferred method of casting a vote if an election were to take place now was at a polling place with appropriate hygiene measures in place (53%). 38% said they would prefer to vote by post and 1% by proxy.”