Voting. I’m so glad we still have the ‘old fashioned’ system…

I realise that, Franp and it always makes me smile. One of my co-grandparent's is a poll clerk.

kittylester

Agree. I even agree with proving your identity - even though the 'officer' always, 'Hi kitty, love your front garden at the moment' or something like that.

We poll clerks are required to ask even our own family members to confirm their identity.

Oreo

And being British we enjoy all the pics of dogs outside the polling stations.🦮🐩🐕

😹

I postal vote, not incompasitated but was a Presiding officer at elections for a few years. I just kept it as sometimes I have been away.

By chance I combined my vote with my early morning walk so I was first in the queue at 7am, but quite a queue as the polling station is not far from the station and lots of local folk commute to London so wanted to get it ‘over and done with’ as they had, as one lady said ‘better things to do with my day!’

I agree about not voting electronically.
But now that there are five parties in the mix, we absolutely need proportional representation. It is ourageoua that a,party can form a government withv30% of the vote. Coalitions work well in other countries, and the 2010 to 2015 Con-Lib government was all right here too Until Brexit.

Why not a revolution?
Who would actually be honest enough to say they’d voted for a racist, misogynist candidate?
I’ll wait- until hell freezes
Where I live there’s lots of overweight late middle age men driving range rovers and at tge pub.id like to bet most vote Reform or Con.
irs sad!

You do realise that you are in a minority?
Turnouts were not high in these last elections.

ronib

Alison333 if more and more people refused to vote, either through complete apathy or an unwillingness to participate in an outdated and flawed process, then some essential reforms might happen.
Also it relieves a bit of a temper tantrum at just how very badly the Uk is being run.

I once vented my frustration at the whole sorry lot of them (it was a general election) by voting for the Monster Raving Loony. But I would never NOT vote.

If very few people voted, the system would need to be changed? As it is, the turnout was not very enthusiastic.

ronib

The advantage of a postal vote is the ability to tear it up into pieces… recognising the futility of UK politics.

What a silly thing to do🙄 how can change be achieved if you don't contribute to it.
It makes me annoyed when people say they don't vote. We might make the right decision but at least we can contibute.

People can help others fill in the ballot paper at the Polling Station, just as they might with a postal vote. There might be abuse but not much can be done about it.

It’s not the old system. The hurdles stop some voting. Does no one here realise there are really poor people in this World
Have a listen to r4 xtra now.
General strike.
V much like now

Did a postal vote. First time but after posting, I learned of how the system can be abused. Discovered that people who have family members with learning disabilities and have no comprehension who is who listed or even any awareness of political parties re completing the forms with their own preferred candidate. This was discovered when someone in a group I attend and who ihas a family member with learning disability just declared they filled family member's form in with who he himself voted for. There doesn't seem to be anything in the system to prevent this.

I overheard the clerk in the polling station explain to someone why pens are not provided for voting. Two main reasons are that pen marks may be visible on the other side of the paper and as someone has said, ink can bleed through and cause a mark elsewhere, which then invalidates the vote.

How is postal voting open to fraud? The voting system is indeed fine as it is, but the system needs to change to PR, especially as we now have multiple parties who need to be recognised in government.

How?

Alison333 if more and more people refused to vote, either through complete apathy or an unwillingness to participate in an outdated and flawed process, then some essential reforms might happen.
Also it relieves a bit of a temper tantrum at just how very badly the Uk is being run.

I agree Nurseundercover. Pencil marks can be altered. But being cynical who is to say that any ballot papers can be spoilt.

I meant 'affect' the futility of British politics!

ronib

The advantage of a postal vote is the ability to tear it up into pieces… recognising the futility of UK politics.

I don't understand this viewpoint. How does tearing up a postal vote reduce the 'futility' of UK politics?

I seem to remember dh having a postal vote since he was unavoidably away for work. IIRC he had to apply, and provide a specimen signature which was presumably compared with a postal vote signature.
Does this not apply any more?
But I agree, it’s too open to fraud.

I agree about using a ballot paper and pencil - but when I saw the 'headline' I thought you meant First Past the Post and personally I think we should move to some form of fair votes. I know this is not quite the response you had in mind, but you triggered this thought and i thought i'd share it.

Barbadosbelle, postal voting was used by my fit forty eight year old son, because he knew that he would be at a conference in Madrid at the time.
Is it your view that he should not have been able to do this?

I was a polling clerk for years (also did nany counts) so did a postal vote, still prefer it even though my polling station is 100 yards from my house