Ballot boxes expected to fill up quickly
Voters will have to grapple with what is believed to be the
largest ballot paper in British election history when they
reach the polling stations today.
With no fewer than 26 candidates to vote for, the 70,100
ballot papers printed for the by-election have had to be
specially designed.
Each one measures a hefty 35cm by 31cm, more than three
times larger than normal ballot papers produced for
elections.
An East Riding Council spokesman said: “We have held
discussions with the Electoral Commission over the design of
the ballot paper because of the unusually large number of
candidates.
“Getting them all on one sheet of paper has been quite a
job.”
Although pundits are predicting a much lower turnout than
the 70.2 per cent figure recorded in the constituency at the
last General Election in 2005, ballot boxes are still expected
to fill up quickly because of the increased size of the voting
forms.
Council officials are urging people to fold their papers
carefully before dropping them into ballot boxes at the 65
polling stations across the constituency.
The polling stations are open until 10pm tonight, with
people able to cast their votes in a variety of village halls,
scout huts, schools and mobile units.
Even with a lower turnout, tonight's count at the
Haltemprice Leisure Centre in Anlaby could also take some time
to complete because of the larger than usual ballot papers.
The result is expected to be declared between 1am and 2am
tomorrow morning.
Comments
by Ian Shields, Christchurch
Thursday, July 10 2008, 8:00AM
“Was the election really necessary? Has DD moved out of his Westminster office? Is £80,000 really a price worth paying?”