Polling day

[shewhomust]

Today Durham City elects its long-awaited Parish Council. durham_rambler and I have already cast our postal votes. I'm a little ambivalent about the postal vote, but on this occasion I was glad that my first encounter with the monster ballot paper wasn't at the polling station:

Our ward has 24 candidates for 8 places, and voters place a cross against up to 8 of those candidates. Once you have voted for Roger Cornwell, you still have to decide what to do with your other seven votes, whether to cast them, and if so, for whom.

Choices, choices...

Comments

[lamentables]

Blimey, that’s bigger than the average ballot paper! All the best to Roger.

[shewhomust]

Thanks!

[sovay]

but on this occasion I was glad that my first encounter with the monster ballot paper wasn't at the polling station

Yikes.

Fingers crossed!

[shewhomust]

Thank you!

[durham_rambler]

Thanks for all your best wishes. The count takes place this evening, starting when the polls close at 10pm. I went to a couple of polling stations this afternoon. In one the polling clerks were asking voters to give the completed ballot paper one more fold to conceal how their votes had been cast; not that I or anybody else could see any detail. It's such a large paper that I wonder if all of the forms will fit in the box if there is a large turn out.

Incidentally my thumb is covering the serial number on the paper. It is an offence against the secrecy of the ballot to publish a photograph of a completed paper or of that number.

I got 823 votes ...

[durham_rambler]

... which was enough to get elected. I came in seventh out of eight, but considering that all the other elected candidates were running on a party ticket that's something of an achievement. I was in fact the only independent to be elected to the new parish council along with one Green, five Labour and eight LibDems. The City is so small that I already know ten of the other successful candidates, and all are of a progressive mind.