Polling station queues - what time to go?

[SingingSea]

Quick question about queues at polling stations -

Are they busier first thing in the morning (7 - 8 am), or are they busier last thing in the evening (9 - 10 pm)?

I don’t think I have ever seen another person in my polling station let alone seen a queue!

I’ve never seen a queue!

I would guess after 9am and before 5pm will be the quieter times as people will go before or after work.

The only time I’ve ever seen a queue at mine was morning commute time - ie people going on their way to work.

And even then it was only about 5 people

There won't be queues

Can’t answer that as it will depend hugely on the demographic split of electorate in your seat - factors like age of voters, whether there is a heavy commuter population, whether/ when it rains, student population will all mean a different throughput.

Never seen a queue here either.

I live in a ward with a very high turn out. There are always other people in the polling station but I've found it tend to be busiest just after tea time when there has frequently been a queue. However the staff are efficient and it never takes more than a couple of minutes to get your paper and cast your vote.

I work in this type of field though and one year we had massive queues outside some polling stations towards 10pm. If you're in a queue by 10pm, you'll still get to vote but it did cause chaos with the close of poll!

Obviously no one can tell you whether your polling station will have a queue and if it does at what time but in decades of voting at many different polling stations I've never seen a queue

In fact until a few years ago when they made the news at 10pm it had never occured to me that there would ever be a queue

Never seen a queue.

I've never seen a queue.

No queues at mine either.

I've also never had to queue to vote either and have gone at various different times of the day over the years

A very short queue at the euro elections this year at 7 pm ; never seen a queue before.

I’ve worked in polling stations.

There’s never a queue at mine (well of more than 4/5 people) but the busiest times aren’t right as the poll opens and closes they’re the dead times.

The busiest times are after after school let’s out (3.30ish) then after when most people leave work and get home (5.30-6.00).

I always go about 7-ish and there is rarely another person there!!

Wondering how many people will go this time!

I doubt there will be a huge queue at any time. It’s so quick anyway I’m sure the most you would wait would be a few minutes.

Never seen a queue!

Also never seen a queue and I’ve lived in cities and small towns.

I go around 7:30am and there's usually only one other person there!

I've run many polling stations. Depends on location and demographic, but peaks occur at early morning rush hour, after morning school drop off, afternoon school pick up, around 5-6, and a rush just before 10. This is really annoying as the pressure is on to get your station shut down, all the paperwork complete and your boxes to the count ASAP.

Always more staff than voters at my polling station.

Never been a queue - I'm often there alone and mine is central to the village.

Our polling station is in a church hall and usually has a queue at the tea, coffee and cake station. Or a queue of people running away from the church volunteers who are very much from the Mrs Doyle school of Gwanyoullhavesometea. You have to run the gauntlet before you actually get near the voting bit.

I've never seen a queue at one. There's usually only a couple of other voters in there, max . I live in a large town.

I'm normally the only one in mine at 8am (voting on my way to work).