Big Changes Planned for Holyrood Count
Election chief talks us through planning a poll during a pandemic
With just 100 days to go until the Holyrood election, we have been hearing more about the efforts to hold the vote safely.
There has been much discussion about whether the May 6th poll should happen as planned.
Despite the ongoing debate, the Electoral Commission is forging ahead with arrangements which could see votes counted the following day instead of overnight.
Andy O’Neil, Head of the Electoral Commission in Scotland, says Covid restrictions will have an impact:
“Normally you would have an overnight count, but I know they are planning for a daytime count on the Friday. Because of physical distancing and space in count centres, it is likely to take a lot longer to count votes.”
The Scottish Parliament recently passed legislation which could see polling held across multiple days.
But Andy O’Neil does not believe that will be happen:
“At the moment, we understand the election will be on one day, but it is important that people realise there is a number of ways they can vote. You can vote in person on the 6th of May or you can apply for a postal vote or a proxy vote.”
And he is predicting a big rise in people opting to vote via the post.
“Normally we get about 18% of postal voters in the Scottish Parliamentary election, but we are expecting an increase in postal voting, it could go up to 40%. The Scottish Government, electoral registration officers and the Electoral Management Board are planning to develop capacity to deal with all those applications.”
For those turning up at their polling stations, he says there will be all the safety measures we have come to expect in recent times:
“You will be asked to wear a mask, there will be sanitisers, you will have to be physically distance, there will be a one way system and there will be screens.”
The deadline to register for a postal vote is April 6th and you can do so at electoralcommission.org.uk
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