Conservative leadership contest: Members could get multiple ballot papers
The party says that any of its members who vote more than once in the contest will be expelled.
Monday 8 July 2019 09:41, UK
Some Conservative members could receive more than one ballot paper for the upcoming leadership election, the party chairman has confirmed.
Writing on Twitter, Brandon Lewis said individuals registered at more than one address may receive multiple ballots, as in a general election.
However Mr Lewis insisted that all members "can only vote once".
It comes after the BBC reported that more than a thousand party members could have been issued with multiple ballot papers.
Speaking to the Today programme, Boris Johnson's campaign chairman Iain Duncan Smith said "obviously there is an issue here, I accept that".
"It's clear that the Conservative Party needs to continue to do some work and look into how they can actually sift this properly so that they recognise who is who", said the former Tory leader.
Tory members are voting in a postal ballot to choose either Mr Johnson or Jeremy Hunt to become the next Conservative leader and prime minister.
One Conservative council leader told Sky News the ballot issues were down to the fact that "parties don't invest enough in membership management" and added this wasn't a problem unique to this election or to the Tories.
He explained that if a member registers separately with two Conservative associations, rather than applying to be an "additional member", then a ballot paper could be sent to each address.
"You can be a member of every association in the country if you want, but you apply to be an additional member - that's how you filter out duplicate voting rights," he said.
Asked about reports of members receiving multiple ballot papers to the same address, the councillor said that could be because of errors during the renewal process resulting in two memberships beings created for one person.
Former Cabinet minister Sir Patrick McLoughlin, who is chairing Mr Hunt's campaign, said the issue has "got to be looked at", but he expects Tory members to follow the rules and vote just once.
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Sir Patrick, a former Conservative chairman, told the BBC: "It's made very clear on the ballot paper that you are only allowed to vote once. I expect Conservative members to follow that".
A Tory spokesman said: "The ballot holds clear instructions that members voting more than once will be expelled."
Both candidates have made campaign pledges, with Mr Johnson suggesting that violent or sexual offenders could remain behind bars for longer and that he is considering an amnesty for illegal immigrants who have been in the country for more than 15 years.
Mr Hunt has promised "competence, delivery and serious leadership" rather than "populism".
There are now 180,000 Tory members, according Mr Lewis.
The leadership ballot closes on 22 July and the result will be revealed a day later.