Tomorrow I’ll be a Presiding Officer in a polling station. AMA

[Tygertiger]

This may not be the most thrilling AMA in the world, but if there is anything you’ve always wondered about the voting process, go ahead!

Thank you so much! have you done this before? Can you tell us what the worst, best, funniest thing that has ever happened is? how much fraud is attempted? What do you do if you suspect fraud, or coercion. I've loads more, but I'll give you a chance to answer that first!

I'm counting the votes tomorrow for the first time, what should I expect?

Can I even vote? I moved house in may and resigned up to the electoral role straight away (before the deadline), I got an email confirmation of my application but then nothing. Does that mean I can vote? Do you have lists at the polling station if I turn ask?

how confident are you in our voting process?

I have to vote twice - once for myself and once as a proxy for a family member. Am I allowed to take a photo of their ballot paper to show them that I've voted for the candidate they want to vote for?

What will you do if people turn up without ID and get belligerent? Do you have security?

who are you voting for?

I’ve been a poll clerk before but this is my first time as presiding officer. I work in local government (in Children’s Services, nothing to do with Democratic Services most of the time!) and it’s all hands on deck in the council at election time - we aren’t allowed to book leave on election days and are strongly encouraged to sign up to be clerks or POs. As I’m a manager I was told this time I would be a PO.

There are loads of regulations around fraud. Essentially the most common would probably be either trying to vote twice (eg you’ve done a postal vote and then turn up to vote in person), voting underage or with fraudulent ID. The first two are easy - postal voters have a code next to their name so we know they shouldn’t be issued with a ballot paper (but they can hand in their postal vote if they didn’t post it in time). If I think ID is either fake or not a good likeness I have to turn the person away. If there are any problems we have a polling station inspector we refer everything to and they also visit frequently throughout the day to check all is well.

I’ve not had any obvious attempts at fraud or anything dodgy but I’ve not done a GE before, only local elections where the turnout is much lower. I’m expecting this one to be much busier!

I’ve not done the count I’m afraid, only worked the polling station side of things so I can’t tell you!

Oh good one OP. I'm A PO tomorrow too - and have done most elections since 2002.. I'll come back and help answer in a bit.

@usernotfound0000 alot of sitting around waiting, then a flurry of activity then more waiting. The atmosphere is great though if you enjoy the politics or just the general tension in the air!

I don’t think I’ll share that if that’s OK. I have voted by post (my home constituency is not where I work). I am not allowed to do anything tomorrow which might indicate partiality - we’re not even allowed to wear a coloured item of clothing which might suggest a link to a particular party.

Thank you, please do go ahead and jointly answer!

this is completely anonymous but ok

We have to turn them away. They are perfectly entitled to return and vote later with correct ID. We have to log numbers who we had to decline and any who returned (to evaluate impact of voter ID).

We have a hotline to the control centre and we would also phone police if required. Hopefully it won’t come to that. If there’s a queue a poll clerk will be stationed outside reminding people before they come in that they need ID, to try and avoid wasting people’s time.

What happens to spoiled votes?

Very. Having done the training and seen the process before I am really confident in the secrecy and integrity of the vote. There is a lot more to the process than anyone would realise from the outside in terms of preserving both.

How busy is it normally? Is there an especially busy time of day? I was at my polling station at 06:59 for local elections and they weren't busy then, but I have never seen it busy tbh.

I think the rule is you have to be in the queue to vote at 22:00, is that right?

I don’t see those as they’re dealt with at the count, not by the polling station staff.

If you’re in the queue at 10pm we have to let you vote - we are told not to let anyone join the queue at this point.

I’ve not done a GE before but I am expecting to be really busy!

I’m not taking the risk that anyone could stalk my username or anything. It’s just a personal principle.

You could contact your local electoral office today to ask - contact details are online.

I'm not a PO, but I don't think this is permitted - I think they just have to trust you.

Photography isn’t allowed in polling stations so I would say no. Essentially you should only be appointed as a proxy by someone who 100% trusts you.

Last time at the local Councillor elections, a guy was outside and asked for my polling card/ID. I thought he was official and put it away after. I was then asked again inside by the lady who gave me my ballot paper. I mentioned having to show it twice (I had a baby to carry and toddler to juggle so was annoying) and she said the guy outside wasn't official??? He had a lanyard and was with a woman with a clipboard.

I've since found out he's an obnoxious neighbour and I'd rather not interact with him. If he's not official can I just refuse and walk past him???

I’m a PO tomorrow too. I’m normally an inspector which is a much easier job - and better paid! But I agreed to be a PO as they’re short. Dreading the 6am start. It’s going to be a looooong day.