Instructions to Presiding Officers and Polling Clerks

Transcription

1 Instructions to Presiding Officers and Polling Clerks Scottish Parliamentary Elections Aberdeen Constituencies and North East Scotland Region Polling Day: Thursday, 5 th May 2016 Prepared by the Election Office, Aberdeen City Council February 2016

2 POINTS OF NOTE FOR THESE ELECTIONS 3 1 Introduction 4 2 Scottish Parliament Elections Polling Station Arrangements. 5 4 Preparing for Polling Day 6 5 Polling Day Before the Polls Open. 7 6 Polling Station Layout 8 7. Taking Account of the Needs of Disabled Voters 9 8. Directional Signage 9 9 Polling Station Notices and Instructions Sealing the Ballot Boxes Last Minute Checks The Security and Maintenance of the Polling Place Maintenance of the Polling Station The Hours of Poll Basic Voting Procedure Checking the Register Poll Cards Who can vote? Issuing the Ballot Paper What to Do if a Voter Makes a Mistake and Spoils a Ballot Paper Personation of a Voter The Procedure for Tendered Ballot Papers Challenge of a Voter by Agent or Candidate The Prescribed Questions Providing Assistance to Voters Assistance to voters unable to gain access to the Polling Place Voters with Hearing Impairment 24 1

3 28 Certificates of Employment Possible Registration Issues Anonymous Registration Under Age but Registered Elector Spelling Mistakes and Electors Who Have Changed Their Name Who is Eligible to Vote? Absent Voters The Close of Poll The Paperwork The Ballot Paper Accounts Forms Generally Ballot Paper Account Example Transporting the Materials to the Count Difficult Situations Serious Disorder Emergencies Incapacitated Persons Tellers The Media and Exit Polls 38 Appendix 1 Sample Ballot Paper Account 39 Appendix 2 - Contact Details 40 Appendix 4 Procedure for postal and proxy voters 42 Appendix 5 Secrecy Requirements 45 Appendix 6 The prescribed questions 47 2

4 POINTS OF NOTE FOR THESE ELECTIONS Differences from previous elections and to which you should pay particular attention: There are TWO types of ballot paper, TWO ballot boxes but ONE Corresponding Numbers List (CNL). ALL voters get both papers. You must label the ballot boxes before the Poll opens. The Voting Age has changed 16 and 17 years are eligible to vote. Anyone on the Register is deemed to be of Voting Age dates of attaining Voting Age no longer appear on the Register. Replacements for spoilt postal votes can be made up until 5pm. Replacements for lost postal votes can be made up until 10pm. Please advise the elector to contact the Election Office on If the elector does not want to seek a replacement, follow the tendered procedure. Numbers of Emergency Proxies are likely to be significant. Details of those received up to 48hrs before Polling Day will be with your Polling Station materials. Those received later will be communicated via the tablet computer. No1 Presiding Officers will be provided with a tablet computer for communication with the Election Office. Full training will be provided but you should note that it is to be used to pass information relating to all the Stations in the Polling Place. While the tablet should be left switched on at close of poll, it MUST NOT BE PUT IN THE BALLOT BOX. To improve security, We are not issuing card passes to Candidates and Agents. Instead we will supply you with a list of those who are accredited. Anyone seeking admission to the Polling station as a candidate or agent must produce photographic evidence of identity which you must check against this list. 3

5 1 Introduction The regular elections to the Scottish Parliament will take place on Thursday 5 th May Many of you will have worked as polling staff at a number of recent elections and, indeed, at the Scottish Parliament elections in 2007 or While there are many similarities with these other polls, there are significant differences and the purpose of these notes is to draw your attention to these and to provide you with the information which you need to discharge your statutory duties in a confident and efficient manner. They are INSTRUCTIONS issued on behalf of the Chief Executive of Aberdeen City Council in her capacity as Regional Returning Officer for the North East Region and Constituency Returning Officer for the Aberdeen Donside, Aberdeen Central and Aberdeen South and North Kincardine Constituencies. Remember that employment as a Presiding Officer or Polling Clerk is not just another job. It is a statutory appointment with specific personal duties and liabilities and, in extreme cases, if you fail in those duties, you may be prosecuted. You should read these notes well in advance and, if anything is unclear, you should ask for advice from the Election Unit ( elections@aberdeencity.gov.uk) Before you start, you should consider whether you have undertaken any activities which disqualify you for acting as a Presiding Officer or Polling Clerk. It is a criminal offence to act on behalf of both the Returning Officer and a candidate or political party in connection with the election. While mere membership of a political party will not disqualify you, any active part in the campaign, however trivial, most certainly will, as will the making of any public statement (for example on social media) supporting or opposing any candidate or party. If in doubt: ask. Contact Details For all matters in relation to the poll, the three Depute Returning Officers in the Election Unit David Gow, Steven Dongworth and Crawford Langley act with the full powers of the Returning Officer and should be your first point of contact. All can be contacted on elections@aberdeencity.gov.uk. On polling day, the office will be staffed from 0600hrs until early evening. Use the mobile phone numbers for contact after operations move to the Count Centre. Additional mobile phone numbers, for use on polling day only, will be provided in your Quick Guide. The fourth Depute Returning Officer - Ciaran Monaghan - tends to undertake specific duties more associated with the count. As mentioned in more detail later in this handbook, questions related to voter registration or the entitlement of an individual to vote, either at all, or in person, by proxy or by post, can ONLY be handled by the Electoral Registration Officer ( ero@grampian- 4

6 vjb.gov.uk) and not by the Election Unit. A specific number for use by polling staff only in relation to Emergency proxies will be provided in your Quick Guide. 2 Scottish Parliament Elections. There are two elements to Scottish Parliamentary elections - the Constituency poll, conducted on First Past the Post principles, and the Regional Poll to elect Additional Members which uses a type of proportional representation, Accordingly, every elector receives two Ballot Papers the Constituency paper (lilac) and the Regional paper (peach) and it is fundamentally important that voters understand that they should mark a single cross on each paper against the name of the candidate of his/her choice on the constituency paper and against the name of a registered political party or individual independent candidate on the Regional Paper. There will be two ballot boxes and you must advise voters of this and that they should put the papers in the appropriate box. While papers in the wrong box will be counted, they add significantly to the complexity of the count and slow it down. Experience has shown that some electors do not understand this system and you must explain it if necessary. Obviously, you cannot assist a voter in choosing the candidate or party for whom to vote. Nor can you provide any information or express any opinion as to the policies for which a candidate or party stands. Voters sometimes complain that they have received no information as to the policies of the candidates and their parties. You should explain that it is entirely a matter for the candidates and their parties how they campaign (or even whether they campaign) and there is no central repository with which they must lodge their manifestos. Any mark other than a cross may lead to the paper being regarded as spoiled and not counted: More than one mark on a paper will almost certainly lead to the paper being regarded as spoiled. You are not required to be an expert on the d Hondt system of proportional representation used for the Regional poll, but you must understand enough of the basics to be able to explain it accurately to a voter if asked. An explanation of the system is provided in Appendix 1 to this handbook, but, in essence, it is a method which allocates additional seats to political parties, or individual candidates not standing on behalf of a party, in proportion to the share of the vote which that party or candidate has received, taking into account (in the case of parties) the number of seats already won in the Constituency poll. Note that in relation to political candidates, an elector is, in the Regional poll, voting for a party and not a candidate. The parties will have supplied lists of their candidates, in the order in which the party would wish to see them elected and, in the event of the party being allocated additional seats, its candidates will be declared elected in that order. It is not open to an elector to edit the party list and a mark anywhere in the section of the paper relating to a party will be taken as a vote for the party. 3. Polling Station Arrangements. Despite the two Ballot Papers, this is a relatively straightforward election and it is not intended to augment the staffing in Polling Stations beyond the standard, one Presiding Officer and 5

7 one Polling Clerk. As usual the size and layout of particular Polling Places will be borne in mind and additional staff in the form of Information Officers or additional Polling Clerks will be appointed where circumstances warrant it. You should arrive at your Polling Station at 0615hrs. prompt (caretakers etc. have been told to open the premises at 0615hrs, so if you arrive much earlier, you may have to wait outside). Most Polling Places will be in familiar locations but do not assume that it will be in the same place as at previous elections. Make sure that you know where you are going and how long it will take you to get there. Whilst many Polling Places are situated in schools or halls with adequate parking in the grounds, this cannot be guaranteed and you are not exempt from parking regulations if you have to park elsewhere. Wherever you park, make sure that you do not obstruct parking/access for voters with disabilities. Your Polling Station number is on your letter of appointment and it is important that you attend the correct station. Polling Station numbers take the form of two letters followed by four numerals, an oblique stroke and a further numeral eg DN 0103/1. It is the figure after the oblique which indicates the particular station in the Polling Place - /1 is the number one station, - /2 the number two station etc. Although two members of staff have been appointed to each Polling Station, it is perfectly legal to operate with one. If the other member of staff has not turned up, we will endeavour to provide a replacement (we have a number of reserves) but, unless you are in a Polling Place with a single station, please do not contact the Election Unit about an absentee until around This allows for unexpected transport delays etc. and allows us to concentrate our limited resources (there are only three of us) on ensuring that every Polling Station can open at 0700hrs. If, for any reason, you are unable to work on polling day, or likely to be delayed, please let us know as soon as possible. The office will be staffed from 0600hrs. on polling day, possibly earlier, and an answering machine operates at other times. 4 Preparing for Polling Day Remember that the hours of poll are from 0700 to 2200 and that you are required by statute to be present in the Polling Place for the whole of those hours. There is no legal entitlement to meal breaks. Obviously you need to eat, so you should ensure that you take enough food and drink for the duration or make arrangements for supply drops at suitable intervals you can t pop out to the corner shop. Common-sense arrangements should be made between PO and PC to allow each other short breaks at quiet times. In many Polling Places you will have access to a staff room or equivalent with kettle etc, but do not assume that this will be so. Dress code is smart comfortable. Remember that you will be working for upwards of fifteen hours and that some halls can be draughty. You must not, however, wear anything which could be (mis)interpreted as making a political statement. Badges and slogans supporting a party or candidate are obviously taboo, but think of the subliminal message which could be 6

8 taken from a Scotland rugby shirt or a Team GB sweatshirt. If possible, avoid anything with wording or a logo. 5 Polling Day Before the Polls Open. If the key-holder has not arrived shortly after 0615, contact the Election Unit immediately. We have alternative contacts for each Polling Place and have a locksmith on standby to force entry if required. The Polling Station must open at exactly 0700, even if you have to improvise temporarily in the back of a car. The ballot boxes, polling booths and stationery will have been delivered to the Polling Place the day before and kept secure overnight. The keyholder will be able to advise you of the location. If you are unable to find the materials, contact the Election Unit immediately. We have reserve supplies which can be made available if absolutely necessary. Unlike previous elections the stationery will not be packed in the ballot box, but will be in a separate tamper-evident sack. IT IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT, ON THIS OCCASION, THE BALLOT BOXES WILL NOT BE LABELLED WHEN YOU RECEIVE THEM. THE APPROPRIATE COLOUR- CODED LABELS WILL BE PROVIDED IN THE SACK AND YOU MUST ATTACH THEM TO THE BOXES, MAKING SURE THAT ANY OLD LABELS ON THE BOXES ARE REMOVED OR COVERED. TWO LABELS WILL BE PROVIDED FOR EACH BOX ONE FOR THE SIDE AND ONE FOR THE TOP. THE LABELS ARE COLOUR-CODED ACCORDING TO THE COLOUR OF THE BALLOT PAPER LILAC FOR THE CONSTITUENCY; PEACH FOR THE REGION. THE BOXES SHOULD BE PLACED SIDE BY SIDE WITH THE CONSTITUENCY BOX TO THE LEFT. An inventory of stationery and materials will be supplied with the sack. You should check the contents immediately and contact the Election Unit if there are any discrepancies. In particular, you should ensure that the Ballot Papers, Corresponding Numbers List (CNL) (printed on lilac paper) and Register (printed on yellow paper) are the correct ones for your station and that the numbers on both sets of Ballot Papers match those on the CNL. There is only one CNL to cover both types of ballot paper. It is lilac; do not look for a peach CNL! The Register and most forms with the exception of the Ballot Paper Accounts and Tendered Votes Lists are common to both polls. Note also that pencils, rulers, string etc are contained in the sundries pack which is a zipped plastic bag with green writing on it. Again, experience has revealed that some Presiding Officers fail to open this pack. You are responsible for setting up the Polling Station. The kit will have been delivered the day before and you merely have to set it up and position the signage. You will have had the opportunity to familiarise yourself with the kit at the training session and the principles to be adopted in setting out the station are set out in the next section. 7

9 On this occasion, The No 1 Presiding Officer in each Polling Place will be supplied with a tablet computer for communication with the Election Unit. Full training on its use will be given at separate training sessions, but a number of basic points should be noted; While only the PO1 will have a tablet, it must be used for communicating relevant information for all Polling stations in the Polling Place. Initially it should be used to confirm that stations are set up and ready to open or any problems. During the day it will be used to provide details of any emergency proxies. At Close of Poll, it must be used to provide details of the various Ballot Paper Accounts and must be left switched on to provide tracking of the Ballot Boxes. IT MUST NOT BE PUT IN THE BALLOT BOX. 6 Polling Station Layout The first job on your arrival is to set up the Polling Station and put up the signs including those outside the building. Make sure that it is easy for all voters, including those with disabilities, to enter the building, paying particular attention to disabled entrances in premises where these are not the main door. If possible, in such cases, either use the disabled access as the entrance for all voters or wedge it open GIVEN THE FAILURE RATE OF PORTABLE DOORBELLS, WE WILL NOT BE SUPPLYING THEM ON THIS OCCASION. YOU MUST, THEREFORE PAY PARTICULAR ATTENTION TO THE ACCESS REQUIREMENTS OF DISABLED VOTERS. Signage is important, particularly when the most obvious door is not being used or where it is possible to approach the building from different directions. Intending voters must never be faced with a locked gate or door with no clear directions to the door in use. Where the outside door of the premises will normally be closed during the hours of poll, make sure that it can easily be opened by voters and that it cannot latch shut automatically. Check the door periodically it is not unknown for mischievous individuals to interfere. A layout diagram for a typical Polling Station is given below but you should adapt it to suit the premises which you are using. The basic points to be borne in mind are: (1) It must be easy for voters to find the station to which they have been allocated: Signage must be clear and where there is more than one station in a room, the stations should be clearly separated by barriers. (2) The desk for staff should be clearly visible from the entrance to the station. (3) The polling booth should be situated in such a way that (a) It is possible for every voter to mark his or her Ballot Papers in secret (b) It is not possible for a voter to leave the Polling Station without passing the ballot box. (c) It is not possible to put Ballot Papers in the ballot box for another station. (d) The low level shelf is in a position convenient for wheelchair users. 8

10 (e) There is no political/campaigning material displayed in the Polling Station 7. Taking Account of the Needs of Disabled Voters Ensure that the ballot boxes are accessible. Usually this will mean putting them on chairs rather than the table. Position signs at a height where they can be read by all voters including wheelchair users. Ensure sufficient space for wheelchair access to the voting compartments. You will be provided with a unit containing 4 voting compartments. One of these will have the writing shelf at a lower level to suit wheelchair users. Ensure that there is room for a wheelchair user to access the lower level shelf and avoid the possibility of those in a queue being able to see over his or her shoulder. Take time to understand how to use the Selector device to assist blind voters. 8. Directional Signage Ensure that external signage is clear and logical. In placing the signs it may be useful to follow the route from street to ballot box to make sure they are logical and easy to follow. Remember that too many signs can be as confusing as too few. You do not need to use all the signs supplied if the route is obvious. Where free standing metal signs are provided these should be used only within the building unless they are weighted with sandbags. It is important to ensure that, where only one entrance to a building is in use for polling purposes (particularly where other entrances are on different streets) there is signage at closed doors, pointing to the one which is in use. 9

11 Sufficient signs should have been provided with your ballot boxes and you should position these appropriately but if it appears during the day that additional signage is necessary, you will find additional supplies in the sundries pack. Visiting RO staff can always arrange for further supplies to be provided. 9 Polling Station Notices and Instructions OUTER / LARGE A FRAME SIGN 1. Full set of Station Identity Signs 2. Full set of Street Lists for Polling Place TOTEM POLL 1. Station Identity Sign 2. Street List 3. Large Sample Ballot Paper 4. Graphical Instruction 5. List of Party List Candidates POLLING BOOTH 1. Graphical Instruction at each desk INFORMATION PACK (PO1) 1. Full set of Street Lists for the City 2. Graphical Instruction 3. Booklet with Guidance for Voters Notice and Translations 4. List of Party List Candidates POLLING STAFF DESK 1. Graphical Instruction 2. A3 Sample Ballot Paper 3. Crib Sheet / Quick Reference Guide 4. No Photography/No Mobile Phones Sign If it has not already been done, you should number the street lists at the entrance to the Polling Place: Station 1, Station 2, etc. The station identity sign on the Totem Poll (the manufacturer likes the pun!) at each station should be similarly numbered. Note that the station identity signs give the full station code and are not interchangeable between stations. Directional arrows should be provided where appropriate. A further full set of street lists for the city will be provided to the Presiding Officer No Sealing the Ballot Boxes On this occasion you will have two ballot boxes one for each type of Ballot Paper. As mentioned above, you must label these securely prior to the opening of the polls as follows: Scottish Parliament Constituency (lilac) Scottish Parliament Regional (peach) Make sure that the labels correspond to the location and number of your Polling Station and that all old labels are removed or covered and that the new labels are securely attached. The Presiding Officer should close and seal the ballot boxes a few minutes before 0700hrs. If Candidates, Agents or Observers are present you should show them that the boxes are empty before you seal them. 10

12 The ballot boxes supplied will be the collapsible plastic type. These have a cardboard insert for rigidity which should not be removed and should be as close as possible to the side of the box to avoid papers slipping down behind it. These boxes are sealed with single use plastic security seals, each of which has a unique number. Remember not to seal the slot until the close of poll and retain a seal for this purpose. (More than one PO has forgotten this elementary point.) Record the serial numbers of the seals used where indicated at the foot of the appropriate Ballot Paper Account. There is no magic attached to the number of seals which you should use. The important thing is that, the box must be incapable of being opened or anything removed or inserted without destroying whatever seals you have fixed to it. Note that while candidates and agents are entitled to affix their own seals to the ballot box, this only applies at close of poll, not at the start. Note also that this right only applies to agents accredited for the particular poll i.e. Constituency or Regional (although many Agents will be accredited for both). It is the responsibility of anyone wishing to affix a seal to provide a suitable seal. Since the boxes are plastic, sealing wax must not be used. 11 Last Minute Checks Just before you open the Polling Station, take a few moments to double check that everything is ready, that the materials are all present and the layout is appropriate. Ensure that the Official Envelopes, unused books of Ballot Papers, tendered Ballot Papers and other official documentation are safely out of the reach of everyone other than polling staff. Remember to use your Ballot Papers, commencing with the lowest serial number, in the order in which they appear on the Corresponding Numbers List. If you do not do this, you will have great difficulty in complying with your statutory duty to complete the Ballot Paper Account accurately. Note that there are no counterfoils to the Ballot Papers (even if the construction of the books leaves a stub when you tear the Ballot Paper out) the elector s number is entered only on the Corresponding Numbers List against the number of the Ballot Papers. There is a single Corresponding Numbers List, printed on lilac paper, with two sets of Ballot Paper numbers and you must ensure that both numbers correspond to the papers which you issue. There is a statutory presumption that every elector will be issued with both types of Ballot Paper and you should automatically issue them in sets. If a voter only wishes to use one type of paper, he/she should be encouraged to put the unused paper into the appropriate box, preferably writing spoiled on it. If, and only if, a voter absolutely refuses to take one sort of paper should you issue a single type of paper. You should still tear both papers out of the books, write the elector s number against the Ballot Paper number in the column for the paper taken and refused against that number in the column for the paper not taken. Write cancelled across the face of the paper not taken and put it in the sack for unused and spoiled papers, not in the ballot box. 11

13 You should also mark on the Register the type, but not number of the paper taken. There is a slight risk that someone who has taken only one type of paper will come back later to use the other paper. This is perfectly legal but it increases the risk of personation. You should always ask the prescribed questions in this case. This cancelling of the unused one of the pair is critically important to keep the numbers running in parallel for future voters. Remember that on this occasion there are two types of normal Ballot Paper, each a different colour: Scottish Parliament Constituency (lilac) Scottish Parliament Regional (peach) Both types of tendered Ballot Papers will be pink. 12 The Security and Maintenance of the Polling Place The Polling Place is the building e.g. a school in which there may be a number of Polling Stations. A Polling Station is the room (or section of a hall) where votes are cast for a particular polling district. While each Presiding officer is personally responsible for the conduct of his/her Polling Station, the Presiding Officer at the no. 1 station in any Polling Place has general oversight of the arrangements in that Polling Place in particular for controlling the activities of Tellers, if they are admitted to the grounds, for ensuring that no party posters are displayed within the Polling Place (including on cars parked within the grounds (except temporarily to deposit voters) or on the outside walls/railings of the Polling Place. The PO must maintain order in the Polling Station and has the power to order a person s removal from the Polling Station. Persons entitled to vote at that Polling Station must nevertheless be allowed to vote before they are removed from the Polling Station. The power of physical removal lies only with the Police (or a Depute Returning Officer) at the request of the PO and if necessary you should summon assistance as soon as possible. You do not have the power to physically eject a person. If necessary, you should not hesitate to call the Police 101 or, in an emergency 999. It is unlikely that a Police Officer will be allocated to your Polling Station for the whole hours of poll (although the Returning Officer and Chief Constable may, in exceptional circumstances, arrange for this).you will, however, receive several visits by Officers on mobile patrol. A person who has been removed from the Polling Station may only be readmitted on the authority of the PO. Bear in mind that the law provides for exclusion from the Polling Station, not the Polling Place, so where there are several Polling Stations in a hall, it may be necessary for all the Presiding Officers to exercise their powers of exclusion. Local practice by mutual consent of the political parties and tolerated by the Returning Officer has allowed Tellers (i.e. representatives of Candidates who have no formal authority) to gather outside the door of the Polling Place rather than in the public road. 12

14 This tolerance extends only to the point at which they cause inconvenience to voters or any Candidate or Polling Agent objects. At that point you must require all Tellers to confine their activities to the public road. 13. Maintenance of the Polling Station The PO should regularly check the Polling Station (or delegate a Polling Clerk to do this). It should be tidy and voters should have unimpeded access at all times. As you inspect the premises you should: Check signs and notices replace or repair any damaged or defaced ones Make sure that access to the Polling Stations is not blocked Instruct anyone who is campaigning in the Polling Place to leave Make sure there is sufficient light for voters in the polling booths Make sure that the pencils are still attached to the booths and still usable Remove any paper in or around the booths particularly papers of a campaigning nature Check the ballot box seals Give the ballot boxes a shake or use a ruler to push the Ballot Papers down Keep the Polling Station reasonably clean and tidy 14. The Hours of Poll Opening the Polling Station There is often a number of electors who arrive promptly at the opening of the poll. Even if there is a queue, you cannot let anyone vote before 7am. The following people are allowed to be in a Polling Station during the hours of poll: Voters Companions of voters with disabilities Children accompanying voters Candidates and Election Agents One Polling Agent for each candidate / party Police Officers on Duty The Returning Officer and staff appointed by her Official Observers and Electoral Commission representatives The Presiding Officer can, if necessary, restrict the number of persons in a Polling Station to avoid disruption of voting. You cannot, however, eject Polling Agents or representatives of the Electoral Commission. If you have to limit the number of other types of official observers (unlikely!) you must do so on a rolling basis. Each candidate / party may appoint Polling Agents. To improve security, we no longer issue authorisation cards to Candidates, Election Agents and Polling Agents. Instead, you will be provided with a list of those so authorised and you must check photographic evidence of Identity against this. 13

15 Unlike Tellers, Polling Agents they have the right to enter the Polling Station and observe voting throughout the hours of poll. The historical reason for this is to allow them to detect and deter people impersonating voters. This is a crime known as Personation and carries significant penalties. In recent years, however, Polling Agents have tended to visit only occasionally to check turnout. Only one Polling Agent for any particular candidate / party may be in a Polling Station at any one time. It is likely that you will receive a visit from them at some point during the day but they must not disrupt voting or attempt to canvass voters. It is permissible for a Polling Agent to be in the Polling Station during the whole hours of poll but this is very unusual. Normally they will visit occasionally and will be interested in the number of Ballot Papers issued at this time. You cannot tell them whether any particular person has voted (or not voted) and while, if present for the whole or part of the voting process they are entitled to mark names off on their own copies of the Register, these copies must not be taken out of the Polling Station during the hours of poll. Remember to check the identity of agents. While some may be accredited for both the Regional and Constituency polls, an agent accredited for only one poll is not entitled to turnout figures for the other. Do not, however, treat it as a state secret it is not a major problem if an agent for the wrong poll overhears. In addition you may, during the course of the day, receive a visit from the Returning Officer or one of her representatives and Senior Police Officers, and/or duly accredited Observers (who should be asked for their authorisation card). 15 Basic Voting Procedure A major change for this election is that the franchise (right to vote) has been extended to 16 and 17 year olds. This means that virtually everyone who appears on the Register will be entitled to vote and dates indicating the day on which an individual attains voting age no longer appear. The voting process should be very straightforward: (1) Greet the elector, ask for his/her name and address, and check the eligibility to vote (PC). (a Poll Card can be useful here but is not a substitute) (2) Mark the Register against the number and name of the elector by placing a straight line through the elector s number and name (PC) (3) Call out the name and number of the elector (PC) (4) Write the elector s registration number including the polling district reference letters/number on the Corresponding Numbers List against the relevant Ballot Paper numbers (PO). The Ballot Paper numbers for the two polls should be the same. (You should check periodically that the numbers are running in parallel) 14

16 (5) Note that while most electors will have a single number of up to 4 digits e.g. 1234, rolling registration allows for additional electors to be added at a late date. To avoid disrupting the numerical order, these electors are allocated numbers e.g. 1234/100, 1234/200 etc. Both parts of the number must be entered on the Corresponding Numbers List. (6) Hand the Ballot Papers to the elector with any explanation asked for by the voter. (PO) (7) Check that the voter puts nothing other than the Ballot Paper in the Ballot Box and that the correct paper goes into each box (PC) If an elector s name is scored off by mistake write stet against it in the register and proceed to mark off the correct elector. This can only be done immediately after the mistake has been made. When the elector marked off in error comes in to vote, score out the stet. Do not try to reconstruct mistakes after the voter has left the station. 16 Checking the Register Ask the elector his/her name and address and check to see if he/she is on the Register of Electors and eligible to vote. Even if a person hands in a poll card you must still ask and check the name and address (PC). This is particularly important where there are several people with similar names at the same address. Be particularly careful with middle names. John A Smith could be listed as John Smith but it is unlikely that John Smith would be listed as John A Smith. If you have both a John Smith and a John A Smith on the register and you mark John A Smith off on the register as John Smith, you have potentially created circumstances where John Smith could appear to be guilty of personation if he subsequently comes in to vote. Make sure that you understand how the Register is arranged. Normally, streets will appear in alphabetical order with odd and even numbers listed separately. You will not necessarily have the whole of any street. At the end of the Register, there may be a section headed Other Electors. These are people, such as anonymous electors or homeless people, who don t fall neatly into street addresses. You must check this section before refusing a vote to anyone. If there are two or more Polling Stations in the Polling Place, please make sure that voters attend the correct one. The Polling Station should have a sign displayed listing the streets/addresses or an alphabetical division of voters. Make sure that this is displayed prominently. 17. Poll Cards. Poll cards can be very useful in helping you to find an elector in the Register. They contain a number of very significant pieces of information. There are a number of different types of Poll Card most significantly, yellow ones and white ones. 15

17 A yellow one is issued to a postal voter who is not entitled to vote in person at a Polling Station. (See below in relation to postal voters) A white Poll Card states the Polling Station at which the voter is registered to vote, so you can tell at once whether you should be directing the voter to some other Polling Station. The poll card also gives the voter s name and address and elector s number, all of which can help you find the correct entry where, for example, the spelling of the name is unfamiliar or the address is not straightforward. A POLL CARD IS NOT, HOWEVER, EVIDENCE OF IDENTITY AND YOU MUST ALWAYS ASK THE VOTER TO STATE HIS/HER NAME AND ADRESS ORALLY. A poll card may have come into the hands of a person other than the voter who is entitled to it: innocently (eg picked up the card belonging to another member of the family from the hall table); illegally (eg by deliberately removing it from a common mail box) or with the connivance of the voter (in an attempt to set up an informal proxy). Whatever the circumstances, use of a Poll Card to obtain the vote belonging to another is a criminal offence and you must not facilitate it. The only voters who must produce a poll card are anonymous ones whose name and address do not appear on the Register. These voters are listed in the other Electors section at the end of your register by the letter N against the elector s number. You must not ask these voters to state their name and address but they must produce a poll card. There are very few anonymous voters. Staff often ask what to do with Poll Cards which the voter leaves in the Polling Station. There are 3 basic points to remember: The Card belongs to the voter and not to the Returning Officer. It is up to the voter to keep it or throw it away. If it is left in the polling Station, the voter has thrown it away. It does NOT contain information to which the Data Protection Act applies. There are NO data protection implications in disposing of them. We have no recycling facilities and please do not take them away to put in a recycling bin elsewhere. Tear them across and put them in the rubbish bag in the Polling Station. Do not let any candidate or Agent get a hold of them. 18 Who can vote? Remember that for this election, voting age has been reduced to 16 and that the date on which anyone attains that age is NOT shown on the Register, Anyone who is on the Register is deemed to be of voting age. Only people whose names are on the Register or their duly appointed proxies can vote provided that they are eligible to vote in that poll (i.e. there is no letter indicating a lack of entitlement). For this election, the only letters which indicate a lack of entitlement are E (peer who is an overseas elector); F (other overseas elector) and U (EU citizen who has chosen to vote in Scotland only at EU Parliament elections). As you will realise, all these categories are extremely rare. 16

18 As always, A against an elector s name means that a postal vote has been issued and the basic rule of one person: one vote prevents you from issuing an ordinary Ballot Paper. A later section of this handbook deals with this in greater detail. P indicates that a proxy has been appointed. Either the elector or the proxy may vote in the Polling Station but not both. The letters A and P together indicate that an appointed proxy has chosen to vote by post. This is a fairly rare category but the A is absolute in indicating that neither can vote in person. 19 Issuing the Ballot Paper If the Presiding Officer is satisfied that the voter is on the Register of Electors and eligible to vote, the elector must be issued with the appropriate Ballot Papers: The Polling Clerk reads out the elector s name, the polling district letter(s)/number(s) and election number from the Register including any suffix e.g. 1234/100. The Presiding Officer writes the polling district number and Elector s number on the Corresponding Numbers List, against the relevant Ballot Paper numbers, removes the Ballot Papers (carefully!) from the books and hands the Ballot Papers to the elector. Remember that the two Ballot Paper numbers should always run in parallel. You should always issue both papers. The voter should mark his/her Ballot Papers in the privacy of the polling booth and fold them separately to conceal the votes. The voter should then show the official mark on back of each the folded Ballot Papers to the Presiding Officer and place each Ballot Paper in the Ballot Box marked for that type of paper. Make sure that the voter does not fold one inside the other and put them in the same box. NB You must not write anything on the Ballot Papers themselves. If you do, the vote is unlikely to be counted and the whole validity of the election may be challenged. You may also be prosecuted for breach of statutory duty. If the voter specifically refuses one of the papers, you must write refused against that Ballot Paper number on the CNL, write cancelled on the face of the unused paper and put it in the sack for unused and spoiled papers. The voter s entry on the Register should be marked to show the type of paper taken.. This is important since it is possible (but unlikely) that the elector will come back later to vote in the other poll. In this event, you must issue only the type of paper which was not taken previously. Do not attempt to use the paper which was previously refused: issue the next available paper from the book. To keep the remaining papers in logical sequence (and ensure that your Ballot Paper Account balances) you must remove its partner in the other poll from the book, mark it as unused on the CNL and mark the voter s entry in the Register to show that all votes have now been cast. 17

19 Where someone comes back to claim the unused paper in this way, there is an obvious risk of personation. You should normally ask the prescribed questions in these cases. It is, of course, proper for a voter who has accepted both papers, to leave one or both blank and put the papers in the appropriate Ballot Boxes. Under no circumstances should you take back a normal Ballot Paper which has been issued properly to a voter it must go in the Ballot Box. Nor must you put any un-issued Ballot Paper in the box it must go in the sack for unused and spoilt papers. You should not allow any voter to take a Ballot Paper out of the Polling Station. Occasionally an elector may ask about the secrecy of the ballot when his/her elector s number is written on the CNL against the Ballot Paper number. It is done to protect electors against fraud. The CNL, the marked copy of the Register and used Ballot Papers are kept in official custody in separate sealed packets. The CNL and used Ballot Papers are only open to examination following a court order where there has been an allegation that an election offence has been committed. The CNL and used Ballot Papers are kept separate and in any event it would be a major task to identify any particular Ballot Paper from the thousands counted. Ballot Papers are now printed with a number of sophisticated security features which are more secure than the previously used perforated mark and accordingly no stamping prior to issue is required. Each Ballot Paper is however, required to have a visible Unique Identifying Mark on the back which should be shown to the Presiding Officer before the elector puts the Ballot Paper in the box. At this election the code letters and numbers on the back of the Ballot Paper constitute this mark. Ensuring the secrecy of the ballot at all times is a paramount aspect of the electoral process. A copy of the relevant provisions of the Representation of the People Act 1983 forms an Appendix to this Manual. 20 What to Do if a Voter Makes a Mistake and Spoils a Ballot Paper Do NOT issue a Tendered (pink) Ballot Paper. These are for use only in very specific circumstance (see later) and this is not one of them. Sometimes voters do make mistakes, by marking against the wrong Candidate or Party, particularly where there is a similarity in names. If a voter says that he/she has made a mistake, first take the spoilt Ballot Paper from him/her, write cancelled against the number of that Ballot Paper on the CNL, then issue a replacement Ballot Paper, not forgetting to write the electoral registration number on the CNL against the number of the new Ballot Paper. The PO should then take the spoilt paper, write cancelled on it and put it in the sack for unused and spoiled papers, in the Ballot Box. At the close of poll you must count and record the number of spoilt Ballot Papers on the Ballot Paper Account. If a Ballot Paper is torn (either when removing it from the book or after it has been delivered to the voter) treat it as a spoilt paper as above. Do not try to repair it with sticky tape. 18

20 Note that Scottish Parliament papers should be issued in pairs one Constituency, one Regional so that where only one paper is spoiled, both should be taken back and a fresh pair issued. Once a Ballot Paper is in the box (or a marked tendered Ballot Paper has been handed back to the PO) it is too late for the voter to change his/her mind. 21 Personation of a Voter There may be rare occasions when a member of the Polling Station team, a voter or a Candidate or Polling Agent suspects that the person requesting a Ballot Paper is not who he/she claims to be. This is called personation and is a serious offence. Please remember that an elector, as distinct from a proxy, is not guilty of personation if he/she applies for a Ballot Paper by a name, which is not his/her own, but is the name under which he/she has been registered. For example, a married woman may retain her maiden name for certain purposes and may legally be registered under either it or her married name, but not both. Presiding Officers have no right to interrogate a person even if they suspect an instance of personation, nor do you have the right to ask for evidence of identity. You may only ask the questions prescribed by law (see section on Prescribed Questions below). The Prescribed Questions must be put to the would-be voter before he/she is issued with a Ballot Paper, and not afterwards. A Polling Clerk may ask the Prescribed Questions, but it is preferable for the Presiding Officer to intervene if a person is suspected of personation as in any case where legal proceedings may be in prospect. The Prescribed Questions are asked to determine whether the applicant is the person who appears on the Register of Electors (or List of Proxies if he/she is voting as a proxy for someone else), and whether he/she has voted in the election (or on behalf of that voter if he/she is acting as proxy). If the person answers the questions satisfactorily then you must issue him/her with the appropriate Ballot Paper(s). Note that satisfactorily in this case means that you get answers indicating that the voter asserts that he/she is the person registered under that name at that address and that he/she has not already voted. It does not mean that you believe the answers. Any case of suspected personation should be noted in the Polling Station Log (green) and notified to the immediately Election Unit. 22 The Procedure for Tendered Ballot Papers There may be very rare occasions when a person not entitled to vote by post applies for a Ballot Paper, either to vote on his/her own behalf or as a proxy, only to find that his/her name is already scored off in the Register as having voted. Assuming that it is not a mistake on the 19

21 part of yourself or your colleague, this is evidence of fraud, attempted or actual. You have no power to play detective to try to ascertain whether the previous vote was by someone else masquerading as the voter or the person before you is trying to vote for a second time. The tendered Ballot Paper procedure must be followed in such circumstances. The Polling Clerk should refer the elector to the Presiding Officer. The Presiding Officer should follow the procedure for issuing tendered Ballot Papers if: The elector has already been marked off on the Electoral Register as having voted i.e. someone else (other than a properly appointed proxy) seems to have voted for him/her. A proxy has already been marked off on the List of Proxies and the elector marked off on the Electoral Register i.e. another person seems to have impersonated the proxy and voted for the elector. A proxy insists that the elector has not voted after his/her application to cast a vote as a proxy has been rejected because the Electoral Register indicates that the elector has voted in person (the List of Proxies in this case would not be marked). Remember that an elector who has appointed a proxy can still vote in person if he/she does so before the proxy attempts to do so. It would, therefore, only be where the proxy knows for certain that the voter is, for example, in traction with a broken leg or is climbing Mount Everest that this paragraph is relevant. The Presiding Officer should check the entry on the Register of Electors to make sure no mistake has been made. Once this has been confirmed the Presiding Officer must ask the prescribed questions. See Appendix 6 below for the form of words which must be used. If the elector or proxy gives the required answers the Prescribed Questions, the Presiding Officer must issue tendered Ballot Paper(s) the voter cannot legally be given ordinary Ballot Papers. Both types of tendered Ballot Papers are pink. The Presiding Officer must write the elector s electoral registration number (including the polling district letter(s)/number(s)) and enter the elector s name and electoral registration number on the Tendered Vote s List. The voter must sign the entry on the Tendered Votes List. The Presiding Officer should hand the Ballot Papers to the voter, ask the voter to vote in secret, fold the Ballot Paper and return it to the Presiding Officer. A tendered Ballot Paper must never be placed in the Ballot Box. The Presiding Officer should then take the folded tendered Ballot Papers and write on the back of each of them, the name of the voter together with the electoral registration number, including the polling district letter(s)/number(s) and place them in the relevant official envelopes. This is the only occasion on which you should write anything on a live Ballot Paper. 23 Challenge of a Voter by Agent or Candidate 20