More tory trickery for the local elections?

Freya5

Mollygo

grandtanteJE65
If the leaflet shown on twitter - surely not the most reliable source, is genuine, someone has made a stupid mistake and needs to rectifiy it over the news fairly quickly.
It was genuine.
On the news, there were apologies and admissions of error and corrections fairly quickly.
I feel for the officials at the polling stations who, with or without this leaflet, will probably be faced with voters who have not heard about the requirement.
There ought to be huge posters outside, reminding people what they need, especially on this first occasion.

Deliberate, no just someone who doesn't check what they're reading before foisting it on the public, who of course don't listen to the TV or radio saying you have to have ID. On your council tax bill in big letters.

In that case, it doesn't inspire confidence that the local party knows what it's doing.

Will there be anyone at the polling stations to check that voters without ID are let in? Apart from the officials themselves. If I was an official I'd let them in. apparently evidence is that voter fraud is miniscule.

Mollygo

grandtanteJE65
If the leaflet shown on twitter - surely not the most reliable source, is genuine, someone has made a stupid mistake and needs to rectifiy it over the news fairly quickly.
It was genuine.
On the news, there were apologies and admissions of error and corrections fairly quickly.
I feel for the officials at the polling stations who, with or without this leaflet, will probably be faced with voters who have not heard about the requirement.
There ought to be huge posters outside, reminding people what they need, especially on this first occasion.

Deliberate, no just someone who doesn't check what they're reading before foisting it on the public, who of course don't listen to the TV or radio saying you have to have ID. On your council tax bill in big letters.

Nannan2

Well the ones 'least likely' to vote or least likely to vote Tory are not just going to do either of those things just because of this leaflet then are they? Also no one is still going to know who they are voting for in the end (if they did) are they as its private.🙄

Sorry, I'm being dim. I don't understand what you mean.

Even young, first time voters in insecure accommodation - including dim voters - have a right to vote and to be given the correct information.

grandtanteJE65
If the leaflet shown on twitter - surely not the most reliable source, is genuine, someone has made a stupid mistake and needs to rectifiy it over the news fairly quickly.
It was genuine.
On the news, there were apologies and admissions of error and corrections fairly quickly.
I feel for the officials at the polling stations who, with or without this leaflet, will probably be faced with voters who have not heard about the requirement.
There ought to be huge posters outside, reminding people what they need, especially on this first occasion.

Well the ones 'least likely' to vote or least likely to vote Tory are not just going to do either of those things just because of this leaflet then are they? Also no one is still going to know who they are voting for in the end (if they did) are they as its private.🙄

Most people on here do have valid ID because there are so many possibilities for older people in secure housing to have eligible ID.

The issues are for first time, younger voters and those without permanent accommodation.

PS. Yes, the leaflet is genuine.

Officials at polling stations will no doubt be told to explain politely to voters who turn up with valid ID that this is now a requirement.

Only those who wait until the last 20 minutes the polling stations are open, will be prevented from going home, fetching their ID and coming back.

To be able to vote you have to be an adult, so it is entirely your own fault if you don't know that valid ID is now a requirement.

On this forum people have been discussing this new requirement for ages - if the rest of the country hasn't that is surely their fault.

If the leaflet shown on twitter - surely not the most reliable source, is genuine, someone has made a stupid mistake and needs to rectifiy it over the news fairly quickly.

But again: voters are adults, so the onus is on them to ensure they understand the requirements for voting.

I believe these leaflets were distributed in the area of Norwich represented by Labour MP Clive Lewis.

GagaJo

Yes, Norwich is a pretty middle-class place. I'd have thought there'd be a lot of Tory supporters there.

Norwich, my birthplace, is a beautiful city and has its wealthy areas, particularly the Golden Triangle. However, in common with most sizeable cities or towns there are many parts which would definitely not be described as middle class and there are areas of real deprivation. It has not been a Tory safe seat for many years, if ever, and it is generally a close fought battle between the main parties. It often has at least one Labour MP.

The local party is claiming it just copied and pasted something from central Conservative HQ on to its campaign leaflets. Unfortunately, it was out of date. If that's true (and it's a pathetic mistake), it doesn't inspire confidence that any new councillors will keep up to date with the latest legislation.

PS. And they can't spell "businesses", so I'm inclined to think the job was given to somebody who didn't didn't know what he/she was doing. Would you really want somebody like that running your council?

Very worrying either way. If they are too stupid to get it right, yet people will still vote for them, or they are trying to deceive voters. Apparently there will be no head count of voters turned away because of lack of 'suitable' ID.
Good luck wherever you are voting. Hope you manage to get in some decent, genuine people.

Because it was a Labour area they targeted!

A. Oh no, you don't if you're registered for a postal vote. You can take the pack with you.

Fixed it for you, growstuff

Callistemon21

Well, perhaps I'm not reading it properly but it *quite clearly states*:

Polling Stations are open 7pm to 10pm
You don't need to take any ID in order to vote, so long as you are registered

Then goes on to mention what to do with postal votes.

wheredoivote.co.uk/

Nor me, either, Callistemon.

I think it was completely deliberate, not really aimed at postal voters at all. Why would they so desperately need to know when the polling station is open that they get a little section all to themselves? Most people post the damn things...

Anyway, the excuse seems to have been accepted. I wonder if they'll re-leaflet the folk who got the wrong ones and put it right...

OK, let's imagine a conversation:

A You don't need ID in order to vote.

B I think I do. I've been reading stuff which says I need ID.

A Oh no, you don't! If you're registered for a postal vote you can take the pack with you.

What it's done is miss out part of the conversation. Strictly speaking, it's true but the sentences are "non sequiturs".

It's misleading.

Well, perhaps I'm not reading it properly but it *quite clearly states*:

Polling Stations are open 7pm to 10pm
You don't need to take any ID in order to vote, so long as you are registered

Then goes on to mention what to do with postal votes.

wheredoivote.co.uk/

Maizie Whoever wrote that wasn't the most literate of people. To be honest, anything that badly written wouldn't inspire confidence anyway. Even some professional writers aren't good at coherence or logic.

Strictly speaking, it is correct. Voters don't need ID IF they have a postal vote. Maybe somebody got AI to write it. It's a classic case of how a couple of words can distort meaning.

NanaDana

Just read the Eastern Daily Press newspaper article reporting this incident. It appears to be due to the basic incompetence of a "National team" who put the leaflet together, and failed to update it correctly, to reflect recent changes relating to voter I.D. The local party has tried to develop sloping shoulders as regards blame, but they received it, presumably vetted it for content, and then distributed it, despite the incorrect, misleading details, which could certainly have proved disastrous if people had based their voting intentions on it. So not a conspiracy or "trickery", but certainly an own goal in terms of making themselves look stupid.

... and they need to spell "businesses" correctly! (Especially if they claim to represent them.)

As most thought then, a cock up 😖😄
Those who always think something’s a conspiracy are giving them too much brain power.

Just read the Eastern Daily Press newspaper article reporting this incident. It appears to be due to the basic incompetence of a "National team" who put the leaflet together, and failed to update it correctly, to reflect recent changes relating to voter I.D. The local party has tried to develop sloping shoulders as regards blame, but they received it, presumably vetted it for content, and then distributed it, despite the incorrect, misleading details, which could certainly have proved disastrous if people had based their voting intentions on it. So not a conspiracy or "trickery", but certainly an own goal in terms of making themselves look stupid.

growstuff

I think you're misinterpreting my posts Maizie.

No, I'm not denying the trickery. I'm reading what it actually says.

So am I. It says that you don't need ID to vote. Full stop.

New sentence 'If you have a postal vote' you can take it to your local polling station etc. . I might have bought it if they hadn't been two separate sentences.

It wasn't an error. The Electoral Commission shouldn't let them off...

Or do tories get a special pass for being not very clever? Like Darren Grimes being let off a fine for fiddling Vote Leave money because he was too stupid to fill the form in properly?

(I was only joking about doing the devil's work, you know...)

I think you're misinterpreting my posts Maizie.

No, I'm not denying the trickery. I'm reading what it actually says.

growstuff

MaizieD

The leaflet seems to be saying that if you have a postal vote pack, you can take that along on polling day and hand it in without needing voter ID

You made me doubt my comprehension skills, growstuff. So I've re-read it and it very clearly starts by saying that you do not need ID to vote so long as you are registered. If it was about dropping off your postal vote I think that would have come first...

Of course it should have come first!

The headline and first sentence quite clearly states that a voter doesn't need ID. The next bit is a bit like the "small print". It's well-known that many people don't read anything to the end. The explanation probably means they can squirm out of being accused of telling an outrageous lie.

You're not convincing me, growstuff

If they were talking about just postal votes what's the 'if' doing?

Are you doing the devil's work for them?😂

MaizieD

^The leaflet seems to be saying that if you have a postal vote pack, you can take that along on polling day and hand it in without needing voter ID^

You made me doubt my comprehension skills, growstuff. So I've re-read it and it very clearly starts by saying that you do not need ID to vote so long as you are registered. If it was about dropping off your postal vote I think that would have come first...

Of course it should have come first!

The headline and first sentence quite clearly states that a voter doesn't need ID. The next bit is a bit like the "small print". It's well-known that many people don't read anything to the end. The explanation probably means they can squirm out of being accused of telling an outrageous lie.