Reports of Queues of people unable to vote?

[Guest sibon]

What's the turnout here? 30-40% of people not bothering to vote, and you're having a go at those that make the effort.

 

Some of these people, like votingsystem, have made extra effort to rush home in time and then had the door shut in their face.

 

I'm not having a go at anyone. I actually feel for votingsystem, who has obviously made a massive effort to vote. My point is that a great many of those in the queues have left voting to the last minute. In my opinion, if they don't get in by 10pm, then that's life.

 

I've got a very busy life. I managed to squeeze my vote in at 7.25 this morning. There wasn't a queue then. Extending voting time would have caused more problems than it would solve. The polling stations have been open for 15 hours after all.

[xgrifterx 10]

i'm back can't turn tv off its got me gripped. bbc are now slating john mothersoles response stating he has got it totally wrong and polls should be kept open and sheffield has been denied.

 

uuuwhh, nick griffins just kissed some poor woman on the tv too..i'll never sleep now with that in my mind...

[RJK3 10]

Well, no. By the same principle, you can hardly expect "the system" to be able to magically predict a last minute surge. The polls close at 10pm. Had they stayed open, I suspect that there would have been serious legal implications.

 

Wrong again. It's perfectly acceptable to process the votes of people who have already arrived at the polling station. It's not the voters fault that there is a queue. Even if voters hypothetically turn up 5 minutes before the end, their vote should still count. The only requirement is that you turn up to vote within the alloted time.

 

Why not just admit you are wrong? It is as though your brain is wired wrong compared to reasonable people. A reasonable person would say that it is reasonable to take the votes of people who have turned up within the voting period. It is that simple.

 

No matter what time people arrived to vote at St Johns/Ranmoor polling station, there would still be hundreds turned away. Even if everyone who wanted to vote had arrived at 7am, and lined up all day, they could not have processed all the voters in time.

[*RTC* 10]

I completely agree with you RTC -surely if you're in the queue to vote and you joined that queue before the end of voting time, then your intention was to vote and you should be allowed to. Just spoken to my sister in Coventry,she walked straight in and voted, it just isn't reasonable that you should have to think to allow a couple of hours to do something that has only ever taken minutes before..

 

If you are in the queue at the supermarket then it closes then you don't get thrown out the shop without your shopping do you! It's ridiculous.

[sheff71 10]

At Darnall Library (where previously you could just wander in and vote in minutes), there was a queue of 50+, and it slowed things down by having the local election ballot at the same time - people appearing confused, and having to come back to the staff to ask which was for which!

 

For the supposed problems with the students, would it not have been an idea to use the universities as polling stations for these - would also have helped with any identification issues too, and spread out the volume of voters?

 

Certainly wouldn't be surprised if there's a big push for online voting for the next election, particularly with the reports on the beeb that some polling stations allowed voting well after 10pm and the exit polls!

[RJK3 10]

My point is that a great many of those in the queues have left voting to the last minute.

 

Sanctimonious fool, once again. How would you know? People had been waiting for hours. HOURS. That is unreasonable. You have no idea.

 

People had been back so many times in the day, because they can't afford to wait. People had gone to other (empty) polling stations and were turned away. That is not right.

[Guest makapaka]

i'm back can't turn tv off its got me gripped. bbc are now slating john mothersoles response stating he has got it totally wrong and polls should be kept open and sheffield has been denied.

 

uuuwhh, nick griffins just kissed some poor woman on the tv too..i'll never sleep now with that in my mind...

 

Me too. i've gotta be up at 5 and can't bring myself to go to bed.

 

In regard to the late votes. I agree that a lot of people have left it late but at the end of the day it says you've got til ten. if you get there before 10 you should be able to vote (i'm not saying you said otherise by the way - just didn't want to post again:)

[*RTC* 10]

I'm not having a go at anyone. I actually feel for votingsystem, who has obviously made a massive effort to vote. My point is that a great many of those in the queues have left voting to the last minute. In my opinion, if they don't get in by 10pm, then that's life.

 

I've got a very busy life. I managed to squeeze my vote in at 7.25 this morning. There wasn't a queue then. Extending voting time would have caused more problems than it would solve. The polling stations have been open for 15 hours after all.

 

But if they were in that queue before 10pm why shouldn't they be allowed to vote! Also if your life is so busy why didn't you opt for a postal vote whereby you have a week to respond and you would have had an extra five minutes in bed this morning ?

[chem1st 10]

i should mention that the 'permanent resident' queue was processed quicker... and we call this democracy?

 

With an average voter age of above 50 its no wonder the youth are discriminated against. They already are in policies. Age discrimination in this country is a joke!

[Ms Macbeth 72]

Have people's habits changed? I've worked on elections a couple of times in the dim and distant past, and found that in the evening the numbers dwindled to a trickle. I was really surprised to hear there were so many queueing late on, but feel some leeway should have been allowed. There is probably nothing currently in the rules to cover the situation.

 

OH and I went to vote at around 11am, and there was only us there.

[AstroKath 10]

But if they were in that queue before 10pm why shouldn't they be allowed to vote! Also if your life is so busy why didn't you opt for a postal vote whereby you have a week to respond and you would have had an extra five minutes in bed this morning ?

 

You think Sheffield got its postal votes out that quickly? Mine only arrived on Tuesday this week.

 

Week to respond my arse!!

[Guest sibon]

Wrong again. It's perfectly acceptable to process the votes of people who have already arrived at the polling station. It's not the voters fault that there is a queue. Even if voters hypothetically turn up 5 minutes before the end, their vote should still count. The only requirement is that you turn up to vote within the alloted time.

 

I don't think that I've been wrong at all. Perhaps they should let those in the queue vote, but that isn't what the law says.

 

A better way would be to introduce electronic voting. I can run my bank account securely online, why can't I vote using similar technology?

 

Why not just admit you are wrong? It is as though your brain is wired wrong compared to reasonable people.

 

I think that you mean that my brain is wired differently to yours.

 

I'm very pleased about that:)

 

No matter what time people arrived to vote at St Johns/Ranmoor polling station, there would still be hundreds turned away. Even if everyone who wanted to vote had arrived at 7am, and lined up all day, they could not have processed all the voters in time.

 

I've not been up there all day, but I suspect that you are talking nonsense. I have been down the road in Broomhill for most of the day. The polling station has been busy, but it was much busier after 9pm than it was at 7am.