Thread: General Election: Voters turned away as polls close

Just saw a news clip on that. Pretty bad. Still, if the Conservatives don't get a majority, Brown can still lead, no?

yes
If he can form a majority in the Commons

Voting irregularities in a third world country

Labour not looking good

Voting stations only open for the previous 16 hours...it's not hard to do....

I used to hope that throwing the old bums out would bring change, but Obama certainly has not been much better than his predecessor, despite the tremendous hope when he took office. Hope the UK does better, but I doubt it.

Gordon Brown has never won an election as leader & PM, so any conniving with the Lib Dems would be scurrilous.

Originally Posted by CharleyFarley

Gordon Brown has never won an election as leader & PM, so any conniving with the Lib Dems would be scurrilous.

Too true. Hopefully, old one eye is on his way out.

Originally Posted by Bobcock

Voting stations only open for the previous 16 hours...it's not hard to do...

Some voters were being turned away at 9.15pm because queues were so long.

There's a simple solution to polling queues. At 10:00 p.m. a police officer or elections officer stands behind the last voter in the queue. Everyone in front of the officer or elections official gets to vote because they arrived on time whilst polls were officially open regardless of how long it actually takes to complete the voting process. It's not hard to do.

looks like the UK is following the political route of their cousins,

bad election process, recount, unelected controversial leader at the top

it's amazing that the UK voting system doesn't actually give time for everyone to vote,

like Stalin would say, I paraphrase here

"it's not about who they will vote for, but how you do the counting"

Unprecedented high turnout, but yes, it's still unacceptable.

They had all day

Fuck 'em

I know we`re in a recession Bob, but, some people still work for a living.

Originally Posted by Bobcock

They had all day Fuck 'em

How can you justify people being turned away when they have turned up in the time given? Would starting to turn them away at 5pm have been okay? What about 6 or 7?

They'll learn next time

Originally Posted by Butterfly

it's amazing that the UK voting system doesn't actually give time for everyone to vote,

Originally Posted by Bobcock

They had all day Fuck 'em

if they only turn up half an hour before closing, there are bound to be problems

I wonder if it was Coronation Street or EastEnders that kept them home?

Originally Posted by Bobcock

They'll learn next time

The EC?

An inquiry has been launched after chaos reigned at polling stations across the country when angry voters were turned away from ballot boxes.


Gordon Brown said he was "very concerned" by the matter and politicians from all sides called for a thorough investigation.


With polling stations unable to cope with demand, thousands of people were still queuing when ballot boxes closed at 10pm last night.


It may lead to by-elections in the next few weeks, which could be critical to the outcome of the election.


Voters were turned away in Hackney, Islington, and Lewisham in London.
People in Sheffield, Manchester, Liverpool, Chester, and Newcastle were also affected.


Sky News sources said 200 people were turned away in Manchester Withington alone.


There were reports of similar situations in other parts of the country.



Voters in Hackney said they were turned away from a polling station in Triangle Road after some had been forced to queue for more than an hour and a half.
They staged a sit-in protest at the building and police had to be called.


And officers were called to a polling station in Manwood Road, Lewisham, where around 300 people had yet to vote by 10pm.


Police were also sent to Sheffield Hallam, where Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg was standing, after students refused to let ballot boxes out of the building.


Sheffield's deputy returning officer Lee Adams said around 200 people were turned away and admitted staff "couldn't cope" with the numbers who had turned up to vote.

The Electoral Commission said it would be undertaking a "thorough review" into the chaos and called it a matter for "serious concern".


A spokesman said there should have been sufficient resources allocated to make sure everyone was able to vote.


Chair of the Electoral Commission Jenny Watson was questioned on Sky News about whether she should resign.


She told Sky's political editor Adam Boulton that her commission was not to blame for the mess and that "decisions are made by returning officers who are entirely independent".


She said the law is that doors to polling stations must be closed at exactly 10pm, and that no one may be issued with a ballot paper after 10pm - even if they are inside the polling station.


But Simon Nayyar, Conservative candidate for Hackney South and Shoreditch, said some voters in his constituency were being turned away at 9.15pm because queues were so long.


He said he was "extremely disturbed" by the problems and would be calling for a "full public inquiry".



Voters turned away in Islington, north London


The National Union of Students (NUS) claimed students in some areas had been unable to vote after they were placed in separate, slower queues to other voters.


NUS president Wes Streeting said: "Where students and other voters have been disenfranchised, local authorities should hang their heads in shame.


"It is outrageous that citizens should be denied their basic right to vote and we demand an inquiry into how this situation occurred."


A spokesman for Gordon Brown said: "The Prime Minister is very concerned by the reports and would support a thorough investigation into them."


A Conservative party spokesman said: "These are very disturbing stories which clearly need to be thoroughly investigated."


Asked if the situation amounted to a "scandal", Olympics Minister Tessa Jowell replied: "I think it is.


"These are queues of people exercising their democratic right and then being denied it."

Electoral Commission Investigation Launched As Voters Turned Away At Polling Stations Across UK | Politics | Sky News

The Welsh Nationalists and Plaid Cymru should make deal with Cameron to have Cardiff FC's debt of I.9M written off and fix the playoff's so that they get promoted to the Premier League.

I'll be very very happy then

why don't they hold election on the week-end, like Sunday, like every other civilized nation do ?

Sunday is a day of rest.

Civilised people do not work on a Sunday.

No need, CCFC will make it on their own