Inquiry looks at why 80 voters were turned away (From Croydon Guardian)
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Inquiry looks at why Waddon voters were turned away
11:00am Wednesday 19th May 2010 in Local Elections 2010
Long night: The election count
About 80 people missed out on their right to vote because of long queues at polling stations in Waddon, an initial investigation has found.
The number is based on information given to Croydon Council chief executive Jon Rouse by presiding officers at the polling stations.
An investigation is ongoing into how many people were unable to vote because of queues outside stations in Barrow Road, Waddon and Valley Park, Broad Green.
Opposition leader Tony Newman called for an independent inquiry into the affair as he claimed it could change the make up of the council.
It is understood, however, the number of votes is not likely to have been large enough to change the election results.
Croydon’s election operation was the largest of all the London boroughs with 271,000 registered voters and 35,000 postal votes to be counted.
More than 1,000 people worked tirelessly over the 48-hour period, with 500 people working as counters and 400 council staff manning the 147 polling stations.
The number of candidates standing was at a record high with about 300 candidates and 70 seats up for grabs.
The count started at 11pm on May 6 and counters worked through until 6am to make sure all votes were counted. They were kept going with 500 meals served within an hour.
The winning candidates for the general election polled nearly 80,000 votes between the three of them.
A council spokesman said: “Initially, it looks as if only a handful of people were unable to vote because we could not physically accommodate them in the polling stations by the time we were obliged to close the doors at 10pm.
“We are bound by electoral law. Any measure to assist those waiting would have had enormous repercussions over the validity of the count.
"However, we are satisfied no polling station closed before 10pm.”
Comments(8)
mcblount
says...
1:51pm Wed 19 May 10
mmj1 wrote:Good comment.
So it's been proved that Tony Newman lied. He said that some polling stations closed before 10pm. That is a lie. People were turned away because they were too lazy to get there before 10pm. If they went in eary before work or just after they got home there wouldn't have been a problem. This is just all Labour trouble making.
NastyMrTom
says...
4:27pm Wed 19 May 10
mmj1 wrote:Lazy ?? Maybe busy , disorganised or surprised by the higher voter turnout as well.
So it's been proved that Tony Newman lied. He said that some polling stations closed before 10pm. That is a lie. People were turned away because they were too lazy to get there before 10pm. If they went in eary before work or just after they got home there wouldn't have been a problem. This is just all Labour trouble making.
southnorwoodresident
says...
6:27pm Wed 19 May 10
Actually, many people were denied there right to vote, unlike in other Boroughs ie Lambeth where only those queueing before 10pm could vote. Flexibility is they key that other Boroughs successfully adopted.
People died for the right to vote, but in Croydon because of an apparent lack of preparation and staff, many voters were turned away. That is a disgrace in a modern democracy.
When do we ever have queues to vote in this country? We should be celebrating that fact that turnout was high, and not discourage even more people from voting because the council could not put its own house in order.
Suggesting that some people are lazy by not voting earlier is really rather naive and an insult to the intelligence of whomever posted that comment.
I'm curious as to how Labour are trouble making? Fighting for a fair chance for people who were denied their vote seems fair to me. There is understandable outrage.
What is more concerning is the admission that 80 people were denied their right to vote, even though they queued before 10pm? This is just the tip of the iceberg.
mr tom tamer
says...
12:50pm Thu 20 May 10
mmj1
says...
1:14pm Thu 20 May 10
t' as they prefer to be called. I have one login or maybe you didn't notice.
Why obsessed whith Tony Newman. Maybe again you didn't notice but Tony Newman is the Labour Leader and therefore all Labour lies locally come from him.
There is no flexibility in electoral law. It is the law currently that if you do not have a ballot paper in your hand before 10pm you cannot vote. There is no flexibility there. The council allowed polling stations to cram as many people in there as possible and get ballot papers in hand to vote. There is nothing more that could be done. I manage to vote early every time (7am normally) so I don't see why if your organised that you can't get there in good time. They have only themselves to blame.
Mr Anthony Miller
says...
2:51pm Fri 21 May 10
elves-to-blame but parties need the maximum participation - it is that that gives politicians a mandate. So that does include the apathetic and the lazy. The less people vote the worse it is for democracy. Sadly calling yet another election is about the only power the toothless electoral commission has ... it should be able to issue substantial fines councils not running their elections properly. Then this wouldn't happen. That said if you turn up a 9:59 without a polling card you are pushing your luck...
southnorwoodresident
says...
9:19pm Fri 21 May 10
Now, sit down and have a cuppa, this next bit may get you excited...
You say there is no flexibility in electoral law, despite the fact that other Boroughs (including Tory Bromley, Labour Lambeth and Lib Dem Sutton) managed to allow everyone who was queueing before 10pm to vote.
So, why were people denied the vote in Croydon? Are there different laws in Croydon? Apparently so.
Plenty more could have been done, such as more staff, contigency plans ie extra areas to accommodate voters portakabins (which Croydon has supplied before - even on Polling Day). Surely the record levels of people registering to vote told you that something unique was happening?? No, perhaps not, that sounds far to straight forward.
To say that nothing more could have been done is such an abdication of responsibility. Will you tell the next person you speak to on the door step that nothing more could be done? Hardly encouraging when people are so fed up with you politicians as it is.
Politicians always moan that people do not come out to vote, and after this fiasco, can you blame them?! You can't even run a blessed Polling Station, never mind Croydon council!!!
I'm delighted to hear you managed to vote early, however, not every persons circumstances are akin to yours, so making sweeping judgements is rather naive of you (but I suspect common practice as a Tory councillor and/or GLA member).
So, nothing more could be done, or your party couldn't be bothered to do any more. I suspect the latter is more likely.
A dark day for democracy!
mmj1 says...
1:39pm Wed 19 May 10
This is just all Labour trouble making.