Voting changes at election counts
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by political editor Paul
Francis
Voters in Kent could be kept waiting
longer than normal to discover who their MP is when the next
general election is held.
The traditional drama of staying up
late for results could become a thing of the past as returning
officers across the county weigh up whether to move to daytime
counting on Friday.
If they do, it could hold up the
national result as Kent’s marginal constituencies are viewed as
critical in determining who will run the country.
The move to daytime counting follows
a trend towards declaring local election results the day after
polling, as happened with this year’s county council election
results.
Two councils have already signalled
they are likely to break with tradition and move to counts on
Friday.
Political commentator
Jonathan Isaby hopes to safeguard election night
Swale council said
it was "fairly likely" to move, particularly if the general
election dovetailed with scheduled local elections.
Canterbury City
Council also said it was expecting to switch. A spokesman
said counters were less likely to be tired and make mistakes. "We
are hoping for a Friday count," he said.
Several others contacted by the KM
Group said they were keeping their options open and remained
undecided.
Read Paul Francis' political blog on
this here>>>
The prospect of results being
declared the day after polling has prompted a campaign aimed at
keeping the tradition of overnight counts.
Opponents say it would end the
traditional drama and excitement associated with the declaration of
results and would be an insult to voters.
Political commentator Jonathan Isaby
has launched a "Save General Election Night" Facebook campaign to
keep overnight counting.
He said: "People want to know not
only their own election results but what the outcome is nationally.
In a county like Kent, you have a lot of marginal seats and unless
all those seats count together on Thursday night you won’t actually
get the national result until possibly late on Friday. These
marginals are crucial seats and are where the national election
will be won or lost."
The move away from overnight counts
has also come under fire from one Kent MP. Sittingbourne and
Sheppey Labour MP Derek Wyatt, who is standing down, said: "It will
take away some of the excitement. When the votes are in, they
should be counted straightaway."
Medway Council, which will oversee counting in
three crucial Kent seats currently held by Labour, said it expected
to stick with overnight counting. The returning officer there will
have the job of declaring three of Kent’s most marginal
constituencies.
A spokesman said: "We have always held them overnight and while
we have not made a decision yet as we do not need to, our intention
is for it to be on Thursday as it has always been."
And voters in Tonbridge and Malling also look
certain to get their results on the night.
Returning officer and chief executive David Hughes said: "My
preference is for the count to take place on the Thursday night as
I recognise both the tradition of doing so and the public’s desire
for the result to be known as quickly as possible."
Thanet also said it was likely to stick with
Thursday night counting.
Voting counts - what might be happening where in Kent
Friday daytime counts:
Canterbury
Swale (Sittingbourne and Sheppey)
Thursday overnight counts likely:
Thanet
Undecided:
Maidstone
Dover
Shepway (Folkestone and Hythe)
Ashford
Thursday, September 10 2009
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