Uncounted postal votes from last week's elections have been 'found' in North Lincolnshire.

Oh I’m worried Maizie and I think many Gransnetters are worried, judging by the posts on here. The election in that area should be declared null and void and reheld. Perhaps there should be a close look at the counters too.

Missing uncounted votes will have nothing to do with any individual party however much some people would like to blame the Conservatives.

Running the election is entirely in the hands of the Returning Officer, with absolutely no political input. It is up to him to set up all the systems necessary to run the election from issuing postal votes, to sending out polling cards, arranging voting locations and organising the count.

If any votes were forgotten it is clearly the Returning Officer who is at fault because it was his job to make sure that all postal votes were received and were present at the count.

Frankly this error is so egregious, he should be sacked.

I missed a vote while living overseas, because the local office messed up my proxy vote. They made the same mistake for the Brexit referendum. I made a complaint, not that it made any difference.

M0nica

Missing uncounted votes will have nothing to do with any individual party however much some people would like to blame the Conservatives.

Running the election is entirely in the hands of the Returning Officer, with absolutely no political input. It is up to him to set up all the systems necessary to run the election from issuing postal votes, to sending out polling cards, arranging voting locations and organising the count.

If any votes were forgotten it is clearly the Returning Officer who is at fault because it was his job to make sure that all postal votes were received and were present at the count.

Frankly this error is so egregious, he should be sacked.

If any votes were forgotten it is clearly the Returning Officer who is at fault because it was his job to make sure that all postal votes were received and were present at the count
This.

The process for opening postal ballot packs is set out in legislation:

www.electoralcommission.org.uk/guidance-returning-officers-administering-local-government-elections-england/absent-voting/receiving-and-opening-postal-votes/process-opening-postal-votes

Missing uncounted votes will have nothing to do with any individual party however much some people would like to blame the Conservatives.

I don't think anyone is blaming the tories, MOnica.

I posted this mainly because, despite the fuss over voter ID for in person voting this 'error' has affected far more voters than have ever been prosecuted for personation, and it casts doubt on the security of postal voting.

The ultimate irony is, IMO, that you can actually deliver your postal vote to a polling station on an election day and no-one asks for any ID.

Callistemon21

M0nica

Missing uncounted votes will have nothing to do with any individual party however much some people would like to blame the Conservatives.

Running the election is entirely in the hands of the Returning Officer, with absolutely no political input. It is up to him to set up all the systems necessary to run the election from issuing postal votes, to sending out polling cards, arranging voting locations and organising the count.

If any votes were forgotten it is clearly the Returning Officer who is at fault because it was his job to make sure that all postal votes were received and were present at the count.

Frankly this error is so egregious, he should be sacked.

If any votes were forgotten it is clearly the Returning Officer who is at fault because it was his job to make sure that all postal votes were received and were present at the count
This.

The process for opening postal ballot packs is set out in legislation:

www.electoralcommission.org.uk/guidance-returning-officers-administering-local-government-elections-england/absent-voting/receiving-and-opening-postal-votes/process-opening-postal-votes

I’m a bit confused about this, in that presumably the postal votes all go to county hall, where they are sorted into wards, and then sent to the relevant location to be counted after the election. How would the returning officer know if not all the postal votes were in the ballot box?

It is still the responsibility of the Returning Officer.

Callistemon21

It is still the responsibility of the Returning Officer.

Understood, I was just trying to get my head round the logistics. The press reports don’t say whether they forgot to open the box which had all the postal votes in it, or if they opened a box but not all the votes were in it (if you see what I mean).

Until we know, i suppose there's no point in speculating!

Casdon It is the returning officers job to ensure that systems are set up and followed to ensure votes are not forgotten. Given how many votes were found, it suggests that possibly all the postal votes went uncounted and that really would be unfogivable. How could such a thing not be noticed?

The buck stops with the returning officer. He is running the show and has to carry the can if anything goes wrong.

M0nica

Casdon It is the returning officers job to ensure that systems are set up and followed to ensure votes are not forgotten. Given how many votes were found, it suggests that possibly all the postal votes went uncounted and that really would be unfogivable. How could such a thing not be noticed?

The buck stops with the returning officer. He is running the show and has to carry the can if anything goes wrong.

I know Monica, I was keen to understand exactly what happened though. I used to live in North Lincs many moons ago, but in a different ward and have friends who still do, so I’ve still got an interest in what happens there.

I looked on the Council website:
Peter Thorpe, Returning Officer, said: “It is not an acceptable situation to have uncounted votes and below the standards residents should rightfully expect. This is why I have referred the matter to the Electoral Commission.

“Candidates, agents and their wider teams work hard for people’s votes and the residents of Broughton and Scawby Ward should expect their votes to be counted as they intended. I am sorry that this did not happen.

“We do know that this was a genuine mistake. We are working closely with the Electoral Commission to strengthen procedures and ensure all lessons are learned.”

As Callistemon21 said, we will have to wait and see exactly what happened.