VOTERS told the Electoral Commission they had been “conned” and “misled” by Independent Green Voice during the Scottish Parliament election.
The “false flag” party was the subject of hundreds of complaints to the election regulator after the ballot box closed on May 6 this year.
Many voters said they were concerned the similarity between the names of Independent Green Voice and the Scottish Greens could have confused voters.
And The National can reveal plenty shared their own experiences of confusion when picking a party on the peach ballot for the regional list in the complaints.
READ MORE: Voters unsure if they backed Scottish Greens or 'fascist front', FOI reveals
One complainer said: “One of the entries was listed as ‘Independent Green Voice’, although the party logo on the ballot contained the word ‘Green’ in much larger front than the other words.
“The name and logo led me to believe that this was the Scottish Green Party. I have since learned that the party listed with the name ‘Green’ on the ballot is not the party I thought it was.
“I feel extremely let down that the Electoral Commission have failed to ensure that voters are not misled.”
Two separate complaints also said that two elderly voters accidentally voted for the wrong party.
One said: “My elderly mother wanted to vote “Green” in the Scottish Parliament elections but mistakenly cast her vote for “Independent Green Voice”.
“She only realised after a discussion with me otherwise she wouldn’t have known. I believe the similarity between the two parties' names and logos is a deliberate attempt to mislead voters.”
READ MORE: Hundreds complain to Electoral Commission over 'Green/fascist front' confusion
Another said: “Independent Green voice has conned me out of my vote, very, very misleading. This shouldn’t be allowed.”
Multiple other complaints also detailed voters who had almost ticked the wrong box.
One voter wrote: “I accept that the former [IGV] is a long-established party; however I believe the lack of clarity on the ballot paper undermined the democratic process.
“I have spoken to people who cast a vote in error or indeed changed their mind at the polling station because they were confused and therefore unable to cast their planned vote.”
One complainer wrote: “The Independent Green Voice on the list vote caused confusion when I was voting, and I nearly voted for a different party than the one I intended to because of how similar the name and their new logo were to the Scottish Green Party.”
READ MORE: Independent Green Voice gets away with claims of vote-rigging
While another voter concurred, writing: “This almost happened to me personally had it not been for the fact that I checked multiple times to make sure I was voting for the correct party.”
We previously told how the EC ruled out a review into potential voter confusion at the ballot box despite the complaints that were lodged.
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