Electoral Commission called in over Bristol polling

[TrueBlueTerrier]

Electoral Commission called in over Bristol electoral polling mishaps

BRISTOL City Council has called in the Electoral Commission to carry out a formal investigation into a series of electoral foul-ups.

The latest mishap to emerge is missing poll cards in Clifton.

The Evening Post understands that whole streets in the Clifton area failed to receive polling cards at all, let alone in time for polling day on May 6.

The council has confirmed it has received complaints about at least two roads, West Mall and Caledonia Place.

But we have also received reports of cards failing to arrive in Miles Road, All Saints Road and Duchess Road.

One reader, who did not wish to be named, told the Post that she had called to complain about her missing card and was told by council staff that the above roads were all affected.

Polling cards are not needed to take part in voting, but local authorities are obliged to send them out in advance of elections to make sure residents are given proper notice.

The council is talking to Royal Mail about what went wrong.

But this is just one of a number of problems the authority has faced in the last week relating to the running of the elections in Bristol.

As previously reported by the Post, the other blunders include:

● Partially-sighted Shane Turner, 43 of St Anne's, was missed off the electoral register but his under-age daughter, who is 17, was given a vote in a polling card mix up.

● More than 2,300 postal voters were sent ballot papers for Bristol East constituency instead of Bristol West due to boundary changes.

● Some of the local election ballot papers involving Bishopston ward were mixed up with Bishopsworth.

● Some of the ballot papers for the Brislington East and West wards were found in the wrong bundles because one polling station – a primary school – was used as the count venue for both.

● In Hengrove, 50 ballot papers initially disappeared.

● In Avonmouth, Tory candidate Spud Murphy initially won by 10 votes, only for a bundle of 32 ballot papers to be found.

This prompted four recounts, with his Labour challenger – former Bristol North West MP Doug Naysmith – ultimately winning the tied seat after both candidates agreed to draw the winning name, written on a piece of paper, out of an empty ballot box in a lucky-dip procedure.

There were also farcical scenes at Council House when whole boxes of votes went missing during the local election count last Friday, leading to confusion between the votes counted for Bishopston and Bishopsworth wards.

An internal investigation is also due to be carried out at the council, though no time frame has been given as yet.

James Easey, a Bristol City Council spokesman, said: "Our records show that cards were printed so we shall be raising the issue with Royal Mail as to why they were not received.

"We apologise for any confusion caused to voters living on these roads, it is unacceptable that they did not receive a card prior to election day."

A Royal Mail spokeswoman said: "We have delivered all the polling cards made available to us by the council, although we are aware that a small number of properties in the West Mall and Caledonia Place area were missing in an original distribution.

"Royal Mail notified the council and cards were issued prior to the election."

[TrueBlueTerrier]

On a google maps all 5 roads mentioned seem to within the same postcode but over 2 maybe 3 different walks

Miles Road, All Saints Road and Duchess Road.
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&q=m ... 5&t=h&z=17" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


West Mall and Caledonia Place
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&q=W ... 9&t=h&z=16" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[sevenandseven]

Most of this seems to be down to an incompetent council. Sending cards to underage voters, whole boxes of ballot papers missing during the count and a councillor being chosen by drawing his name out of a box where Labour beat a Tory candidate called Spud.

[Lounge Lizard]

That must make the 6th May General Election null and void so it will have to all be done again.
Come back Brown All is forgiven.