So all of these people who wern't able to vote,

[Callisto]

I'm not sure if I have much sympathy for them really. It does clearly state that you have to vote at your designated polling station before 10pm.

One of the officers in charge said:

"Many did not have their polling cards, which significantly adds time. Some people went to the wrong polling station.

"And... the absolute laziness from the elector by not joining queues when they arrive, returning at a later time only to find a longer line and re-returning at 2200 BST, which, as it clearly states, is closing time."

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/election_2010/8666338.stm

Why do we need exit polls anyway, other than to feed the media frenzy and provide overtime for Dimbleby et al?

Ban exit polls and have the polling station open for 24 hours, with council staff employed to run them in shifts.

I do feel very sorry for the folk who queued for hours only to be told they couldn't vote.

I left for work before the polling station opened, but was lucky enough to finish in time to vote on my way home.

Ds actually came home from university 150 miles away to vote, stayed overnight and went back in the morning. Most of his friends were very keen to vote this time, so I feel sorry for the students too.

if it is true about the 1000's then that is a national disgrace.

Thousands over the country might not be significant when it is divided between the affected seats.

bbc q&a

Why should people have to explain why they couldn't go to vote before 9.30pm? I'm baffled at this attitude, really.

Hang on a minute.

If people GOT to the polling station in time, ie before 10pm, they should have been allowed to wait in the queue.
I agree it would be silly to allow people who arrived later than 10, still to vote - that was their problem.

But people in the queue? Totally out of order to deny them their vote.

I believe that if you have your ballot paper in hand at 10pm, then you are allowed to vote.

As for splitting students from residents - in our polling station we were separated by address to collect our ballot papers. In our case it was done by road name, but I can imagine that doing all halls of residence on one list would make sense.

cnn interview of sheffield student

snap Claire, I do not understand this attitude. It has not happened before in this country and yet voters were expected to guess that huge queues would suddenly become a problem?
have seen in other threads that some polling stations were working at full capacity and beyond from 6pm. If those who turned up at 8:30pm had turned upat 6pm then there wold have been even bigger queues at 6pm and still some people wouldnt have been able to vote.

As it happens the Sheffield Hallam eward vote result would be not affected; it was a safe Lib Dem ward and Nick Clegg won by thousandfs of votes. Even if all those unable to vote there had voted the finl result would not have changed.

But the Chester result is well and truly challengeable on these grounds -- 600 people were denied their right to vote despite having polling cards, because the polling station used an old register. The margin of victory was 549.