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Original poster

How to vote in person?

82 replies

Namenamenameshame · 12/12/2019 11:09

I don't know how to do it or what to do. I don't have any photo id or a vote card (Not sure i ever recieved one but I am registered to vote)
How do you know which polling station to go to.

I checked my local counils website and they only have info on voting by post or online.

I registered to vote online this year and selected the option if postal vote. But i only got a letter saying I was already registered so I didn't need to do anything else. Nothing about post vote. I assumed something would come but nothing has and today is the day! I am panicking and not sure what to do or what I need!
Can i still vote even though I dont drive or haven't left the country so i have no photo id? Could I use a bank statement as proof?

Please don't comment just to make me feel stupid, i have never voted before and have noone to ask in real life. (Ps i already feel stupid)

OP posts:
Ingurr · 12/12/2019 12:58

I have a postal vote and in our constituency we are sent a pink card showing registration to vote and saying that a postal ballot paper will be sent out soon.

Wtfdoipick · 12/12/2019 12:58

The op said she tried to register online to vote and ticked the postal vote option but the system said she was already registered. This is only to get on the electoral register actually applying for a postal vote is seperate.

lisasimpsonssaxophone · 12/12/2019 13:08

I have also never been in a polling station where the tables are organised by roads

Really? They always have been when I vote! This morning there was a sign on the door as you went in saying if you’re from these roads go to table A and if you’re from those roads go to table B. How do they do it where you are?

OP, well done for going to vote for the first time! I know it sounds scary but I promise it isn’t. Do you have a neighbour you could go with if you’re not sure?

LIZS · 12/12/2019 13:10

You can enter postcode on ec website to identify your allocated polling station.

Jellybott · 12/12/2019 13:18

You can drop your postal vote into any polling station in your constituency - I'm poll clerking right now so can confirm this is true.

DGRossetti · 12/12/2019 13:19

I have also never been in a polling station where the tables are organised by roads

Not sure of the intricacies of it, but our polling station contains two completely separate sections inside ("6" and "7" ?) with a room each, ordered by road name ... A-something in one and something to Z in the other ...

AnchorDownDeepBreath · 12/12/2019 13:24

I have also never been in a polling station where the tables are organised by roads

They are near me. Weirdly N - Z are Station A, and A - M are Station B.

PerkingFaintly · 12/12/2019 13:38

You can drop your postal vote into any polling station in your constituency - I'm poll clerking right now so can confirm this is true.

Jellybot thank you for confirming that. I thought I remembered that, but couldn't find anything to say so.

WaferThinIce · 12/12/2019 13:59

Some people may need ID of sorts today i.e their polling card. Previous to this it was sufficient to turn up and give your name and address however there have been discrepancies in a few electoral areas so the Electoral Commission is testing the 'bring your poll card' option. It should say on your card if so.

coconuttelegraph · 12/12/2019 14:00

I have also never been in a polling station where the tables are organised by roads

Neither have I but then I posted on the thread the other day about queues in polling stations where just about everyone said they'd never seen a queue and what do you know all the papers are reporting queues today.

Every day's a school day Smile

DuchessofWoke · 12/12/2019 14:10

I expect there are queues at certain times of day. Very early in the morning as people are leaving for work and just before 10pm when people suddenly remember they haven’t done it!

heartsonacake · 12/12/2019 14:35

How do they do it where you are?

lisasimpsonssaxophone You walk into the building and there’s just one table, you give them your name and address and are moved along the table as they sort you with pens and ballots and crossing you off etc.

ShetlandWife · 12/12/2019 15:10

I have also never been in a polling station where the tables are organised by roads

I hadn't either, till today when I voted for the first time in the place I just moved to.

bridgetreilly · 12/12/2019 15:21

I have also never been in a polling station where the tables are organised by roads

Mine is!

Also, they do ask for polling cards (and are completely allowed to) because often it's easier to have the address written in front of them when they are looking it up. But if you didn't get one or didn't bring it, you just say so, and then tell them your address.

OP, I would definitely go to the polling station. It sounds as though it's possible your postal vote wasn't registered, in which case you'll be on the list as normal, and if it was, then you talk to the presiding officer and sign the form to say you haven't used the postal vote. Either way, you should be able to vote.

halloumi2019 · 12/12/2019 15:34

At my old polling station they would split by road A-Z, however there was a significant amount of student accommodation & a university campus in the immediate area. They would have had at least 200 students with virtually identical addresses, judging by the capacity of the university’s own halls alone.

My current polling station doesn’t do this though, it’s much quieter. I went this morning at 8 before work, it was a ghost town! Couldn’t imagine a queue.

CouldBeOuting · 12/12/2019 15:35

I have also never been in a polling station where the tables are organised by roads

Mine is! I actually vote by post but had my daughter’s proxy vote today (had to vote for the “wrong” person in my opinion but did it through gritted teeth) and there were two ‘sides’ of the school hall with a list of applicable roads for each side. Separate desks and separate ballot boxes.

flouncyfanny · 12/12/2019 15:45

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

FluffytheGoldfish · 12/12/2019 15:57

I had forgotten that there was probably electoral fraud at my polling station in the last general election. Woman near me (about 5 different wards in the same hall) handed over her card to find her name was already scored out. They called the senior clerk over and were checking all the paper work again when I left. About 15 minutes later when I passed the polling station there were police heading in! Local news mentioned it but I don't know what happened next.

Mmmcheesecake · 12/12/2019 16:05

My polling station was empty, it is every time I vote. There’s only one table with three people. One person sat with the black box, one taking address and name and another writing the number against the name. No separate roads etc. Must be a smaller number of people to go through.

DGRossetti · 12/12/2019 16:05

Woman near me (about 5 different wards in the same hall) handed over her card to find her name was already scored out. They called the senior clerk over and were checking all the paper work again when I left.

In theory, they could locate the offending ballot and remove it. I have to admit (any lawyers around) I'd be curious to know how that would work ?

Presumably, they'd reissue the ballot and allow the real voter to cast their vote, and in the event of a 1-vote majority, the candidates could request a court order to unseal the register and remove the fraudulent vote ?

None of which is any consolation to the people who were denied their lawful right to cast a vote for whatever reason (see Welsh students story ....)

flouncyfanny · 12/12/2019 16:07

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

flouncyfanny · 12/12/2019 16:21

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

flouncyfanny · 12/12/2019 16:25

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

DGRossetti · 12/12/2019 16:27

You'd have to close the polling station and open the ballot box. Both things you don't have authorization to do.

I know that much. (reminds me that Linda Rondstadt and Aaron Neville is DWs and my song Grin).

I was just curious as to whether any effort would be expended to locate the offending ballot if there was no disagreement from the candidates over the result. After all one dodgy vote isn't going to overturn a 10,000 majority.

I know there are special electoral courts (being in Brum, it would be hard not to Sad) so presumably they'd need to get involved if access was needed to the actual ballots ?

I know it all seems a tad archaic, but I have much more faith in the current system, than any amount of new fangled stuff. And I speak as the most techno-nerdo-phile there is.

Hingeandbracket · 12/12/2019 16:28

It seems so astonishing that we don’t have to provide ID
There are still people who don’t drive or travel abroad - demanding they provide “ID” would be difficult, and it’s pointless as there is very little cheating.