To ask how can your vote be secret

[DuckyMcDuck]

If they write the number of your voting paper on the list next to your name? I've often wondered this.

I know it would be a logistical nightmare to try and match them up but it would actually be possible

lists and budgets I have always always voted in every election (national, local, EU etc). I assumed at the time that a tired steward had crossed off the wrong name (eg, my name instead of a neighbour with a name directly above mine). I know they double check and have 2 lists but assumed that mistakes can still happen.

It caused a bit of confusion, and the head steward/official type person was called over but they didn't seem overly concerned. If it ever happened again, then I would be very suspicious and would kick up more of a fuss. But it hasn't since then (2017).

@lljkk

related question from a vote counter ... what happens to all the paperclips and elastic bands? Those items are always brand new at counts, or seem to be. I fear they get incinerated with actual paper ballots.

Tell me they don't get incinerated with the paper ballots.

The amount of plastic & sealing & packaging last night... 5am finish and votes were only verified.

I wonder if we were at the same count or whether this was repeated across the country? Got home at 6am as we were almost the last table to leave, and so much plastic! I am now worrying about the paperclips and elastic bands, which I ad not thought about before. My two sons did the count (well, verification) for the first time last night and I had to keep telling them that it wasn't normally like this.

I've thought this for many years. It really annoys me that they say your vote is totally secret,yet they write the number of your ballot paper next to your name on the list!

I've always wondered about how you become one of the people who do the counting? Is it volunteers, or people who work for the local council?

@BritWifeinUSA

signature is then compared with that which is held on the driver license database

How does that work for people who do nog have driving licences. ?

There has been quite a lot of voter fraud in certain areas but quite a proportion to do with postal voting. Can I ask the election officers on here how that's picked up and combatted?

@LoveMySituation

I've always wondered about how you become one of the people who do the counting? Is it volunteers, or people who work for the local council?

I'm a presiding officer. A lot of the others work for the district council in their day jobs but a significant amount don't. You can contact your district council and ask to be on their list for things like this. It's paid work. Presiding officers and polling station inspectors get paid the most, poll clerks probably next, then postal vote openers and count assistants.

@LoveMySituation

I've always wondered about how you become one of the people who do the counting? Is it volunteers, or people who work for the local council?

We got into it by emailing the election department at the local council, information should be on their website. The counters are usually a mix of council staff and other people, more so this year as people like me who had done it before were asked if any other members of their household were interested in doing it as part of a bubble, hence my sons did. We are paid a flat rate per session so not volunteers. Usually it's good fun and quite a good atmosphere, especially for big elections.

Yes I noticed this years ago. If they really wanted to check how you'd voted, they could.

Yesterday my local polling station had gone digital so they scanned the QR code, and then scanned the ballot papers, presumably linked to my name!

* signature is then compared with that which is held on the driver license database

How does that work for people who do nog have driving licences. ?*

Or (like me) do not have a photo driving licence with a signature held in the system?

I've always wondered about how you become one of the people who do the counting? Is it volunteers, or people who work for the local council?
I've worked twice now as a polling clerk - I wrote an enquiry e mail to the elections team at my district council and am now on a list. I'm asked each time what posts I would like to be considered for and the polling station areas I would work in. It's a very long day (approx 6.30am - 10.30pm) and longer for the Presiding Officer as they have to deliver the ballot boxes to the count. You are there all day & cannot leave the building so need to take all food/drink with you. The rate of pay varies between councils - this time we should be paid extra for online Covid measures training, regular cleaning & sanitising and because there was more than one ballot (we had 3).

DS1 asked me this yesterday, when he went with me to vote. I volunteered at a count years ago, so explained how it all worked, which reassured him greatly.

It's the private companies that can analyse your data, predict your voting habit with alarming accuracy and use that info with no legal constraints that I worry about far more, tbh.

[quote FinallyHere]@BritWifeinUSA

signature is then compared with that which is held on the driver license database

How does that work for people who do nog have driving licences. ?[/quote]
BritWifeinUSA says in her post:
If you don’t have a drivers license you have to provide a sample signature when you register to vote.

Friends worked for the council & said it was a good gig. Council advertises for counters & election staff, keeps our names in a database & asks if we are available when another election comes up..

Shouldn't be volunteers counting. Because we are paid well, we are motivated to do it well.

Friend was presiding officer (16 hour day) at a polling station. I helped her & others pack up one evening. There would have to be a conspiracy between them to look at any one person's vote. The arrival of boxes to the counting hall is also timed; polling station staff would have to work fast to not get caught. I don't actually know how the boxes would be broken & resealed safely. And WTF for. Whose vote is so interesting to find out by secretive illegal means? Especially when most people will happily tell you truth about who they voted for. Why would you do this and risk losing what is a well paid job and relatively easy for the money?

Most of the vote staff are council employees, btw, seconded for the day or who take hols & get better hourly wage by counting that day/evening than their usual wage.

I got my first polling clerk job through my DF, who worked for the Council. Did that for a few years and got good reports (POs have, amongst the 85,463 forms to fill out, to make staff performance reports back to the Council). I was then offered the PO role. Generally it's a mixture of seconded Council staff, retired people and nerds like me who like being a tiny cog in the democratic machine 😁 as PP have said it can be good fun - people sometimes work together at the same polling station for years, and there was usually some good-natured rivalry with neighbouring polling stations too!