I have just come back from the pub, having popped in for a couple after the polling booths had closed. There were only about 20 locals in and only 8 of them had voted, about 40%, which is about right.
The worrying thing, however was of the 8 who voted 4 had voted 1 2 3, rather than X. having been confused by the AV publicity. Ok 8 voters in my local aren't a scientific sample, but it does suggest that one of the more interesting things to look out for as the results come in is the number of votes spoiled by virtue of voting for more than one candidate.
Thats quite a common issue in student areas. Student Union elections are always carried out under AV or STV and students will often vote in several of these before "real" elections. Polling stations close to Universities ofetn record lots of 'spoilt' papers where people have ranked the candidates.
ReplyDeleteThere is no university in Glan Conwy, and the four who told me that they had ranked 1 2 3 were all over 60!
ReplyDeleteThere does seem to be a high number of incorrectly filled in ballot papers tonight. Usually a few hundred in each seat which would usually be in the tens in a normal election.
ReplyDelete1 and 2, I can understand, but where did they put 3 in the AV referendum?
ReplyDeleteAre you sure they weren't pulling your leg?
ReplyDeleteChatting with a relative a few weeks back, they had a bit of 'senior' moment and asked whether 1,2,3 should be used on the regional list ballot paper. It was a momentary lapse(!) but I did wonder at the time if people would get confused.
ReplyDeleteDoes the Electoral Commission look at the nature of spoilt ballots and report on it? It should do.
Hendre
To me there's something very wrong about counting ballot papers marked 1-2-3 as spoilt. Yes, it shows that the voter didn't understand the electoral system, but their intention is absolutely clear, and it only seems fair to count these as an "X" by the candidate marked "1".
ReplyDelete