Election Voting

[Phil Pascoe]

http://www.voterpower.org.uk/
Sites like this are irritating - it'll work by post code, but not by constituency.

 

[Claymore]

I have had at least 6 bits of junk mail regarding the election and all have been in either Polish or Urdu ? as I am British I cannot understand them apart from the bit where transport may be available if needed to the polling station lol I'm thinking of making it a day out and going to the big city (Dumfries) to see how the city people live..... should be an eye opener for a country bumpkin like myself I believe they all have indoor toilets nowadays! what's wrong with a muddy field and a handful of straw?

 

[RogerS]

We've had the complete suite of party leaflets but the prize has to go to the local election Tory candidate who actually came to see us. Given we live out in the sticks it was no mean feat by him.

 

[n0legs]

Mr Clegg popped over today, he didn't call in to see me though.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Lucky for you.

 

[Mark Hancock]

http://www.voterpower.org.uk/
Sites like this are irritating - it'll work by post code, but not by constituency.

"Enter a postcode or constituency name" ????

Worked for me

 

[flh801978]

I have often though "do we still have a secret vote" with there being a number on your voting slip x ref to electorel role
Had the same discussion with the staff at polling station as PAC1
If you were to strike out that number on your ballot paper some would see it as a spoilt paper
But apparently all spoilt papers are put before candidates to see if they all agree what your intentions are and if clear your vote would count

this has come from a returning officer

Ian

 

[Phil Pascoe]

http://www.voterpower.org.uk/
Sites like this are irritating - it'll work by post code, but not by constituency.

"Enter a postcode or constituency name" ????

Worked for me

No. Only post codes worked for me.

 

[stuartpaul]

and this one is interesting on how effective your vote is
http://www.voterpower.org.uk/

I found that to be a complete and utter load of shoelace securing devices (bow locks!).

'My vote was wasted' because I didn't vote for the winner?! I believe its called democracy!!

'The outcome is pretty mich certain regardless of how we vote' - complete cock. Whilst it might take a lot of people to change an incumbent politician it's happened plenty in the past.

NURSE! - quickly, - my pills!

 

[Eric The Viking]

I have often though "do we still have a secret vote" with there being a number on your voting slip x ref to electorel role

It takes a court order to allow ballot slips to be tallied against voter identities. This _is_ essential, as electoral fraud is sadly commonplace now, and investigations do happen.

If you were to strike out that number on your ballot paper some would see it as a spoilt paper
But apparently all spoilt papers are put before candidates to see if they all agree what your intentions are and if clear your vote would count

That is correct. The law does not require an "X", merely a clear sign of the intention to vote for a specific candidate on the ballot. You can write "Him -->" and it's a legal vote. You might even write "They're all liars but he's the least worst!", and as long as your intention is clear, it should count. I believe profanities do mean the paper is 'spoiled' though.

"Spoiled papers" and unclear votes are shown to the candidates or their agents for decision. If there is no agreement, the returning officer decides the matter.

Naturally, if a vote is close, deciding what is and is not spoiled can be quite contentious.

I have seen electoral fraud, personally: Postal votes where the "X" has been made in exactly the same way by the same pen. I've seen it twice. In the first instance, although all the candidates agreed (except the person being 'voted' for) that the ballots were fraudulent, the returning officer (our city chief solicitor) said he was unable to disallow them as the law didn't permit it. The second time nobody wanted to make a fuss (apart from me) so that was that.

Apparently he couldn't disallow, as that requires a court. And in case #2 the amount wasn't enough to prejudice the result (although if you ask me they should still have been found and nicked).

Aside: I've been in IT for over 20 years and high-tech industry all my working life. I am implacably opposed to electrronic bvoting, as fraud is impossible to detect. With paper ballots you have DNA, fingerprints, all the usual forensics, and a lot of humans doing the counting. It happens, but it is hard to steal a traditional ballot. With electronic voting you have mystery, and power concentrated in unaccountable hands.

E.

 

[JanetsBears]

Thankfully, I've seen no sign of Yvette Cooper yet, but she's about as safe as it gets, unfortunately! I've not seen any of the other candidates either though.

Chris