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!

You should never work in a polling station. That's a crap attitude to democracy and hopefully you're just being flippant.

I'm working as a poll clerk tomorrow. I'm not a council employee and are being paid, not volunteering

Has anyone acted really crazily in the polling booths, like flashing, wanking, weeing, pooing?

Have you ever seen anyone trying to cheat by coming in pretending to be several different people in disguise?

Why do they use pencils so much? It seems like they could alter stuff easier that way! Lol

Have you ever known a polling worker to be caught deliberately miscounting the votes in favour of their preferred party?

Are there any immediate physical traits that make you think you are certain who the person will vote for (apart from badges of their party etc) and if so, what traits for which? Light-hearted as of course you won't know for sure.

Thank you very much in advance!

If the process works as it should I will have no idea of anyone’s voting intentions before they vote or know how they voted after they have finished. Which is exactly how it should be!

My son registered to vote weeks ago, about two weeks before the deadline. He hasn't received a polling card. Can he still turn up with ID and vote?

Never had any of these, but my previous experience is local elections and this is my first GE, so anticipating it will be much busier and incidents might be more likely. Hopefully no wanking 😳😆

I’m not involved in the count myself but I would say no way can it be tampered with. There are so many checks and balances in the system.

I would double check with the electoral office to make sure but if he registered before the deadline he should be fine.

Tygertiger-thank you!

@Tygertiger thank you. I'm very glad you've never had a wanker or shitter, lol.
Sorry, maybe my imagination is running wild about how exciting it might be.
It's interesting to hear your experience and views though. If any of my 'scenarios' do happen, make sure to let us know in detail! 🤣

But do you know the answer to the pencil conundrum? I know they always used to only have pencils!?

not the OP but have also been a presiding officer and work in local government

yes, he can vote with ID but no polling card BUT to be absolutely sure he should call democratic services at your district or borough council today to be 100% sure he is on the list. Easier to sort out errors now than on the day.

Your elector number is recorded against the number of the ballot paper issued to you. This is to avoid counterfeit ballot papers being used, because if they are numbered it’s much harder to introduce copies of official papers into the ballot box. If fraud occurs it would be possible to detect this by referring to the corresponding number list.

However there are safeguards to protect the secrecy of the vote and prevent the ballot paper numbers on the list being linked with marked ballot papers. At the close of poll, I will put the number list in a sealed envelope and take to the Returning Officer. After the count has taken place, the used ballot papers are also sealed. The only time they could then be opened is on the orders of a judge as part of investigation into alleged election offences. Even then it’s not likely they would be examined.

So basically there is really no chance that anyone can match up a voter to a ballot paper, and 99.9% of the time the papers are never cross-checked against the voter number list.

And yes you are allowed to work and vote at your own polling station

I’m usually at the count. You will be put on a table with a Count Supervisor who will do a quick training session with you.

you’ll verify the number of ballot papers in the box compared to what the PO has said. Once all agreed you’ll get to the vote counting. You will probably have candidates watching over you especially in areas of the constituency it might be close in.

Hopefully it all adds up and no recounts are requested. That’s what takes the time!

I once had a man who came and collected his ballot paper and went into the booth to mark his paper. I could tell he was up to something. He emerged looking very shifty and then tried to post something in a small plastic bag into the ballot box. Only ballot papers are allowed in the box so I had to rush across and stop him. Had quite a tussle over the item. Luckily a police officer happened to be at the station - just a drop in whilst on his round, so intervened and removed the chap from the station.
It was a bit scary actually, and meant I had no end of paperwork to complete!
Turned out he had written a letter about all his complaints of the politicians which he wanted to go in the box. If he'd just left it as such it would probably have gone unoticed, but the plastic bag wouldn't fit in the slot!

@Seeline thanks for this, I knew there must be some dodgy goings on occasionally! I guess it could've been the contents of a condom, or maybe piss, or explosive substances?! Crikey the mind boggles!
Can you answer the one I asked about any traits you think people have visually that indicate who they'll vote for? Other than badges etc.
Thank you!

I've got a postal vote but I want to go and physically post it (want to wear my AHF t shirt to the polling station). What ID do I need to do that? I know I need something cos I did the same thing for the local elections (but can't remember)

Your driving licence or passport will be fine.

What is AHF?

Pencils - it’s not set down in law that it must be pencils, but there are two practical reasons which presumably date from the pre-biro era when everyone wrote in ink. One is to remove the risk of ink smudging so the vote isn’t clear, and the other is to prevent any possibility of wet ink on a ballot paper contaminating another paper when it’s dropped in the box. Both of them probably wouldn’t happen these days but the tradition persists!

Well as no one other than the voter knows how they vote, it's impossible to tell whether you're right in guessing. Having said that, no, I never wondered how people voted, or assumed anyone would be voting a particular way.
I think having worked in local government for many years, you learn never to assume anything about the general public!

I have no idea if this still happens (it doesn't at my polling station), but back in the 1970s the people standing outside polling stations asking for cards were called number snatchers. They would be volunteers from each of the parties and their job was to try and get a record of who had already voted. People didn't have to give them their cards, but most did and where I lived it was all very amiable, even between the different parties. The number snatchers would pass the cards to a runner (aka 10 year old me - my Dad was a local councillor) who would scoot back to the local party committee room and the names would be checked against the electoral roll - which was all laid out on clipboards on a big table.

The cards would also show who had said during canvassing that they would vote for the party's candidate. This information was used to knock up potential supporters, remind them to vote and offer them a lift if necessary.

It was very labour intensive but the general feeling was that all this activity really made a difference to turnout.

I'm working as a polling clerk for the first time tomorrow and then at the count. It's going to be a long day!

Do you have any tips for newbies?
What time of day tends to be the busiest?

My question is - how do you get loo breaks?

@Tygertiger It will definitely a long day and it is surprisingly tiring, especially when you have to be nice to everybody even though some of them are astonishingly rude and you get asked the same question over and over - "good turnout?" 😁

I also think that the role of PS staff is hugely misunderstood. Some people seem to think you are part of a conspiracy by Government to defraud the voters. It's a shame more people don't understand the process. A lot also don't understand that you are supposed to be impartial whilst on duty. I perfected the art of smiling through gritted teeth!

For those who might be interested, it is interesting, can be hugely enjoyable and it is rewarding to feel that you are contributing to the democratic process. Full training is given, you have a manual to refer to and there is a chain of command, so you are never on your own if things get difficult.

Yes to the snacks, lots of them are required, and all the tea and coffee too!

I hope you have a smooth day @Tygertiger.

I haven't done elections for over 20 years, but remember that you used to be provided with a special pencil sharpener as part of the kit. Polling pencils are not standard size! Do you still get that?
I'm very sad that polling boxes are no longer sealed with red sealing wax, and voting papers no longer have to be stamped with the special marking tool. It all seems very boring these days 😁