Helen Duffett

Don’t use AV to vote in today’s AV referendum

By | Thu 5th May 2011 - 6:09 pm

A quick note about the correct way to complete your ballot paper in the referendum today.

The Electoral Commission states:

You show your choice by putting a cross (X) in the ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ box on your ballot paper.

Put a cross in only one box or your vote will not be counted.

Obviously, this referendum is not being conducted under the Alternative Vote system, but I’ve heard some reports of people wanting to emphasise their awareness of AV by actually using it to vote today. Thinking a little self-reference won’t go amiss, some have suggested voting in order of preference, with a 1 for Yes and a 2 for No.

Don’t do it!

Papers bearing a vote for both answers will be rejected:

Electoral Commission guidance for invalid ballot papers


The Electoral Commission have issued examples of votes that the Chief Counting Officer deems to be valid or invalid and states “All of these examples are based on previous case law or taken from the specific rules for this referendum.”

See the booklet Supporting the referendum on the voting system for UK Parliamentary elections – Dealing with doubtful ballot papers.

Update: The @BBCPolitics account has tweeted during the counts overnight,

Small number of ballots spoiled in Lincoln after voters attempted to rank councillors in an Alternative Vote fashion #vote2011

Read more by or more about or .
This entry was posted in Election law and News.
Advert

One Comment

  • Chris 5th May '11 - 6:30pm

    “… I’ve heard some reports of people wanting to emphasise their awareness of AV by actually using it to vote today …”

    If anyone filled in a ballot paper like that, they’d be demonstrating they had no understanding at all of how AV works!

Post a Comment

Lib Dem Voice welcomes comments from everyone but we ask you to be polite, to be on topic and to be who you say you are. You can read our comments policy in full here. Please respect it and all readers of the site.

To have your photo next to your comment please signup your email address with Gravatar.

Your email is never published. Required fields are marked *

*
*
Please complete the name of this site, Liberal Democrat ...?

Advert

Recent Comments

  • Tom Reeve
    I read Mike’s email with interest. It started well before sliding into more of the same. Strong analysis on the campaign model, and the point that demogra...
  • Tom Reeve
    You can talk about Gini coefficients and wealth and income per decile until you’re blue in the face. The core issue exercising most voters is fairness and pow...
  • Peter Martin
    @ Iain, There is common ground on the federal question insofar as we agree that it could work. A federal system works well in Australia. The Aus...
  • David Wright
    Conviction of lying under election law can be more consequential, though prison was not involved: "Convicted Reform politician no longer councillor" https://w...
  • Iain Donaldson
    Thanks Mim, That's fair as a description of the counting process, but I think it's worth separating the voter experience from the administrator experience. ...