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KEY Documents
KEY INFORMATION

Northumberland Election 2008 Video

Your guide to the election - HOW TO VOTE

 

by Paddy Gascoigne from Blyth Valley Council (Deputy Returning Officer for Northumberland)

On election day people have the choice of voting by post  or going to their polling standing in their local area.  In the Blyth Valley area I look after we have 45 polling stations.  On the day in question we will be open from 7 am until 10 pm at night which means that the staff involved must stall all day and cannot leave the polling station.  They will bring all their food with them.  Electors are told via the post which station to go to.

About a month before the election polling cards will be sent out to potential electors. Electors can take their polling cards along to the station where they will be given a ballot paper.  You do not need to have your polling card with you in order to vote and can simply give your name to the Presiding Officer who will check that your name is on the electoral register and his/her staff will issue you with a voting paper on which to cast your vote and post into the a slot at the top of the ballot box.  The polling station remains open until 10 at night to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to vote.  The Ballot Box is then sealed by the Presiding Officer and taken to where it can be held securely overnight.

The Presiding Officer must close the polling station at 10 o’clock exactly and no one will be allowed to vote after this time.  At 10 o’clock the Presiding Officer seals the box by putting a rivet in the top of the box.  He/she will then complete a statement to tell the Returning Officer how many votes are contained in the ballot box to stop it being tampered with.  The ballot box will then be transported to the counting station.  In this particular election we will be undertaking the count the next day. This is why it will need to be kept securely overnight.  In the past we have used prison cells to do this but as they are no longer available we will be using a secure locked room at Blyth Valley Civic Centre.