The Count

If you've ever wondered what happens to your ballot paper after you've placed it into the box or postbox, read on ...

This was my interesting first experience of an election count, held immediately after the poll closed at St Clement's Hall.  It was not without drama!

The count was attended by an Acting Returning Officer (ARO), an Elections Assistant Officer (EAO) from ELDC, three counting clerks, two of the candidates (myself and Michael Welby, both accompanied by our wives} and Cllr Isaac Bailey.

After being asked to wait outside for 10-15 minutes whilst final preparations were being made, we were invited inside and asked to sit on the five chairs that had been set out, each with an official Notification of Secrecy Requirements required under the Representation of the People Act 1983 (as amended).  Break that and you risk 6 months of imprisonment!  Were we being regarded as an intrusion?

The first part of the process was to validate the number of ballot papers in the sealed box against the number that had been recorded for those having been issued during the day.  This didn't match up initially, requiring a second count.  Postal ballots had previously been sealed in a large envelope and these were then added to those made during the day, everything jumbled up, and distributed randomly to the counting clerks, two of which were apparently university students.

The clerks each began sorting the papers into three piles using wire baskets in front of them.  That should have been nine baskets but only eight had been brought, so one clerk had to make do with an ad-hoc pile on the table.  The technique of doing this seemed to vary amongst those counting and it was possible in some cases to observe whether a paper going into a pile had the cross against the top, middle or bottom candidate as listed on the ballot paper.  From what I suspected was being placed into a basket for me, things looked promising and it would definitely be between Michael and me.

Three papers were identified as 'spoilt' and rejected.  The EAO commented that this was usually the fun part of the count.  Sadly, Reform UK didn't have a candidate standing, so that one was out.  A couple showed signs that the voters thought they'd come to play noughts and crosses and one had a comment written on it in addition to a cross.  The candidates present were happy to accept it though, as the preferred candidate was clearly marked.

After the initial sort, the clerks then began bundling the votes for each candidate into batches of, I believe, ten and held together with large paperclips.  Then it all started to get a bit chaotic ......

Yellow Post-It notes were written on and affixed to the top of bundles that were passed between each clerk and the ARO, who was standing behind them armed with a calculator.  Surely, we were now nearly there? Not so!  Apparently, the total didn't add up to the total of previously validated votes.  It was out by 100.  Bundles were passed back by the ARO and the EAO joined in the recounting.  At this point it was getting a bit much for me and I felt compelled to leave my chair and walk around a bit to help relieve the tension that was developing. It was found that one bundle contained 293 votes and not 193 and it was queried whose writing it was on a Post-It.  This led to a rather unseemly conversation (for the occasion) between the EAO and one of the counting clerks.

More confusion followed.  The ARO then approached my wife and spoke the name of the female candidate not at the count.  Assuming she thought she was addressing that candidate, I corrected her and pointed out that the candidate wasn't actually present.  She then proceeded to show us a piece of paper with the names and votes for all three candidates, which my wife jotted down.  I pointed out that Michael Welby and his wife hadn't had sight of this and turned to them to offer my hand in congratulation to Michael, who assumed I had gained the most votes and congratulated me.  I had to show Mrs Welby the actual figures that we had been given, by which time the ARO had returned to her station briefly before coming stage right to read the declaration.

Michael said a few words in relation to letterboxes and dogs whilst leafleting and I outlined an agreement that we had both made to support each other should one of us decide not to stand and reaffirmed my future support, now that he had been declared as elected.  Cllr Isaac Bailey also shook Michael Wellby's hand and offered to work alongside him on community issues. 

I think the whole process could have been handled with more professionalism; clearer communication with the candidates and their supporters, no unnecessary comments made toward or about the counting clerks, especially the university students, and the rush to leave at the end.  Irrespective of the lateness of the hour (11:10pm), those officials present had signed up to being there in service of the public.

As an aside, I came across a very illuminating article by Dr Mark Pack.  It illustrates what a complex process this is, even for a small parish election with only a few hundred votes cast. It's highly recommended reading.