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Letter: Did Voter ID Determine the Result of a GBC Seat?
Published on: 6 May, 2023
Updated on: 12 May, 2023
From: Howard Fisher
In response to: Guildford Borough Election Results – Lib Dems Take Control With a Majority of Two
It will be interesting to learn if anyone was turned away in Ash South on the basis of an invalid photo ID and that turns out to be an incorrect decision by the polling station staff.
Hopefully, that possibility was checked before announcing such a tight result.
David Shaw (R4GV) won in Ash South by a single vote, after a recount. Ed
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Responses to Letter: Did Voter ID Determine the Result of a GBC Seat?
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"Found any?" - "Nope, it all looks green to me!" (See Opinion: The Future is Congested, the Future is Grey)
Mark Stamp
May 7, 2023 at 12:10 am
Why, when introducing the requirement for photo ID, was a requirement not included for the returning officer to declare the numbers turned away? It could have been added to the declaration as is done for the number of spoiled ballots? This seems like a straightforward change that could be made to increase transparency before a general election.
Michael Ney
May 7, 2023 at 2:26 pm
Presiding Officers did have to record any and all electors refused a ballot paper on the grounds of missing, inadequate or suspected forged photo ID.
They also had to record the numbers of electors making strong representations against having to show photographic ID.
Mark Stamp
May 7, 2023 at 11:26 pm
But they did not have to publicly declare them at the count, the statistics will be passed to the government who may or may not release them.
Jeremy Pattison
May 11, 2023 at 2:33 pm
This letter reads like an attempt to discredit this election. There are many scenarios that could have occurred and some might have changed the outcome, but as long as the election was conducted to the rule (whether we like them or not) we must accept the outcome.
Our hypothetical turned-away voter may have gone on to increase the winning margin or voted Conservative and made no difference at all. Another hypothetical voter’s postal vote may have got lost in the post. Maybe the person(s) that only voted for one candidate (there’s an odd number of votes in an election where everyone had two votes) could have changed things.
The lesson from this margin of victory is that it is always worth voting. Every vote counts, and in this case a single vote could have changed the outcome.