IT'S A YES VOTE

[Night Tonic]

Always difficult but a formal ballot box is the nearest you could get and then the turnout is likely to be even less.

[andy2007]

Why would the turnout be worse?
It would be easy to identify who isn't getting a vote, and then it could be rectified in time for everyone who can be bothered, to vote.

If anyone turns up, who isn't on the voting list. They could complain, and once their identity is confirmed, be added to the list. From what I have read on here: there are a LOT of people who wanted to vote, but couldn't. When the stakes are so high, that's a serious problem.

[Night Tonic]

I guess it depends where the ballot boxes are but postal votes in general were implemented to 'up' the vote response. In a lot of ways the final count of those that voted was actually very good - a lot lot higher than even most government elections. Like I say, this is all irrelevant now anyway. Apart from on here, I haven't heard anyone complain of vote rigging or unfairness in the way the ballot was run or papers distributed and the subject didn't even arise with the initial vote to reject the deal earler in the year - and there was scope for that. Whether the result of this one is popular or not, its about right in terms of numbers.

In any election, you'll always get those that are unhappy with the result questioning the way/method the ballot was done. Sometimes its down to misreading strength of opinion (as happened with this one) or because theres a large proportion of those that didn't vote and thats not uncommon either.

[andy2007]

You have a good point there Night Tonic. As I have said in another Thread, if anyone did miss out on Voting, they should have complained earlier. Otherwise, they won't effect the result anyway.

There is of course the possibility that they got to vote earlier, but couldn't this time. But if that has happened, no-one has said so, so far.

When I referred to the Ballot Papers dissapearing into the Bermuda Triangle, I was being sarcastic. My point was, that if people hadn't recieved the Ballot Papers yet, they weren't going to get one at all. Posties collect, sort, and deliver the mail. Therefore, it would be very difficult for managers to tamper with the delivery.

My points about Postal Voting, are the limited timescale for the round trip, when there was still a big backlog. And that any problems, would create the PERCEPTION of a fix.

I was worried that some people who live in badly effected areas (Liverpool for example), may have missed the deadline, and so not been counted. Also, that as it is our Employer who is handling the Papers, there is the risk of conspiracy theories getting out of hand.

Personally, I don't think that we would have got a NO vote, even if EVERYONE Voted. But the method of Voting, creates too much fodder for conspiracy theories.

This is an unneccesary problem, that should have been avoided. I don't know how, although I have taken the trouble to suggest an alternative. I'm sure there are plenty of other potential methods. But the CWU should have anticipated this. It's like pouring Petrol onto the flames!