John

I am sorry about your experiences but I suggest that next time you make a
complaint to the Presiding Officer followed up by a letter to the Returning
Officer.  His name and address will be on the numerous notices to be found
outside the Polling Station, most of which remain unread.  There is and
cannot be any excuse for this treatment of voters, and if you do nothing
then the political parties will get away with it, particularly where the
Presiding Officer is weak and ineffective. A reasonable sum of money is paid
to Poll Clerks and Presiding Officers. As a voter you are entitled to
receive value for money.

However, as you are still rankling from your experiences my advice is to
complain now.  As you are at the University of Coventry I assume that you
voted in Coventry.  If you did, then address your complaint to the Chief
Executive of Coventry City Borough Council at Earl Street Coventry CV1 5RS.
Ask for assurance that he will instruct his Presiding Officers next time,
probably the Euro referendum, or local council elections, of their duties
and inform all the political parties and pressure groups  to desist in this
practice.  If you don't complain then it is assumed there are no problems.

Doug

Douglas Colyer


-----Original Message-----
From: John Gledhill [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 13 June 2001 09:30
To: Doug Colyer
Subject: Re: Electoral rolls and election canvassing


oh yes, sure.
Have you ever tried declining to tell them your number when you enter?
It's treated a tantamount to abusive language.
John

Doug Colyer wrote:
>
> I think Kevin may be being disingenuous about the election procedure. The
> people he is referring to are the 'tellers'.  They work for their own
> political party, and are usually enthusiastic amateurs.  The Presiding
> Officer who is in charge of that particular polling station is charged
with
> ensuring that all persons wishing to vote have unimpeded access. Presiding
> Officers are instructed that they must ensure all tellers are aware of the
> election requirements.  These include not attempting to obtain information
> from voters on their way into the Polling Station; not blocking the
entrance
> and certainly not occupying the area within the Polling Station. Because
> tellers work in shifts it usually becomes necessary to remind tellers
> throughout the day about their responsibility not to accost voters on
their
> way in. To ensure that they are without doubt aware of the rules, a notice
> is displayed on the outside of the Polling Station detailing the rules for
> tellers.  They have no legal function in the running of the election. All
> Political Parties are aware of this fact.
>
> On the way out, and off the Polling Station,  it is generally perceived
that
> tellers may ask voters for details.  This is a free country and it is up
to
> the voter to ignore the tellers if they so wish. The only advantage to
> providing the name or electoral roll reference is that it often saves
knocks
> on the door later by opportunist party workers offering to run you down to
> vote, hopefully for their party.
>
> As to the ignorance of the Conservative party teller, it is not uncommon
to
> find ignorant tellers of all parties.  As a Presiding Officer of many
years
> standing I have endured instances of ignorance from some of the voters
that
> I am there to serve, particularly when by no fault of mine they have been
> omitted from the Register. I believe it wrong to condemn all voters
because
> of a small minority and I would suggest that it is also wrong to condemn
any
> party outright for the failings of one willing but stupid amateur teller.
>
> Whilst the Electoral Register remains a public document and the voting
> procedure remains as at present then all Political parties will use
tellers
> to mark off voters who have cast a vote. It  will remain a secret vote if
> you don't tell a teller how you voted. My advice is to wish them " a good
> day" as you leave the Polling Station, and report them to the Presiding
> Officer if they become objectionable or officious.
>
> As to Data Protection implications there are none. Your name and Electoral
> Register entry number are on the Electoral Register, but unless the
tellers
> know you personally then they can't mark you off as having voted.
>
> Douglas Colyer
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Kevin Broadfoot [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: 08 June 2001 14:35
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Electoral rolls and election canvassing
>
> Just to add a little anecdote to yesterday's discussion about electoral
> rolls and DP.
>
> When I went to the polling station yesterday evening the usual party
workers
> were waiting outside with their clip boards collecting details of who was
> turning up to vote.
>
> Largely because of yesterday afternoon's discussion I decided to ask them
> what they would do with the information and whether they thought there may
> be any DP implications.  They all politely explained that they only
> collected electoral roll numbers and that they couldn't identify an
> individual from these!
>
> Expressing surprise that anyone would collect meaningless numbers - this
> exercise seemed to be the political equivalent of train spotting - I
> enquired what was the good of the number by itself.  I was then told that
> you could look it up on the electoral roll to see who had turned up to
> vote!!  Obviously didn't understand cross referencing!
>
> In some US States canvassing closer than 600 yards outside polling
stations
> is prohibited by law ( this is to give the electorate time to reach their
> cars and escape!) so I also asked whether there was any regulation
governing
> what they did and was told "it's part of the electoral process!"
>
> I asked about whether there might be any DP implications and the
> Conservative party worker replied that the DPA was a dreadful piece of
> legislation that should never have been introduced!  I said I thought it
was
> quite a useful piece of legislation from an individual's point of view and
> did something to redress the balance and recognise that people have
rights.
> "Human rights!" was the reply, "We don't believe in Human Rights!"  He
then
> launched into an attack on the European Convention on Human Rights as "the
> cause of all kinds of problems we don't need" and then he asked me if I
was
> going to vote for his candidate!
>
> And they wonder why we don't bother listening to them or voting for them
> anymore!
>
> regards,
>
> Kevin Broadfoot.
>
> Principal Consultant, Baltimore Technologies plc, Innovation House, Mark
> Road, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, HP2 7DN     Tel: +44 (0) 1442 342600
> Fax: +44 (0) 1442 266438
>
>
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--


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*   From Dr John M Gledhill
*   personal email: [log in to unmask]
*   Academic Registrar, Coventry University,
*   Priory St. Coventry CV1 5FB, UK
*   phone 024 7688 8336,     fax 024 7688 8311
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