In the final blog of our elections series Returning Officer Georgina Blakemore explains how your vote is counted and speculates a little on the forthcoming General Election.
It’s official. The Prime Minster has spoken. The General Election will not be held alongside local elections on 2 May. Whether you think that’s a good thing or not, the elections team at Epping Forest District Council breathed a huge sigh of relief. The combination of a General Election with All-out District Council, Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, and Town and Parishes would literally have kept us counting all night, through the following day, on into Saturday and possibly even Sunday.
For most of the year, our election team is a very small unit with just 2 main members of staff. At election time, that team is supplemented by several hundred volunteers. Starting with the opening of more than 70 polling stations at 7am on Thursday morning, we don’t finish until every vote has been counted and every result announced. That is not all.
The weeks leading up to elections are a hive of activity. From the simple but huge logistical task of booking polling stations and count venue, to recruiting hundreds of volunteers, there are dozens of practical building blocks put in place before a single vote can be cast.
2 May Elections
Nominations close on 5 April. With 3 seats available in every District Council ward, we are expecting lots of candidates, each of whom needs to be properly checked and processed before a single name can go on the ballot paper. Dozens more candidates could stand in the Town and Parish Elections. On top of that, we are working with elections teams across all 14 District, Borough, City and Unitary councils on the election of the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner.
At the same time, we anticipate a last rush of people making sure they are registered to vote. If you have not already done so, you have until 16 April to register to vote on the 2 May elections.
As soon as we have the printed ballot papers checked and ready, polling cards and postal votes start to go out. With an electorate of approximately 100,000 people, that’s a lot of post. Around 10 percent of our residents also vote by post before the polling stations close at 10pm on Thursday night.
2 May Election count
With such a large set of elections, we decided the best way to get the count completed quickly was to hire the biggest venue we could find. This year, hundreds of count assistants will convene at Chigwell Marquees for two days on Friday and Saturday.
Chigwell Marquees is better known as a wedding venue. For the elections, it will be transformed with dozens and dozens of tables in a huge rectangle. Count assistants will begin with the verification process by checking the number of ballot papers in each ballot box tallies with the number of people who voted. Sitting inside the rectangle, they will then begin the actual count, scrutinised with eagle eyes by candidates, agents and political party members to make sure each ballot paper goes on the right pile.
Access to the count venue is through advance ticket application only. We have Chigwell Marquees booked from Thursday to Saturday, but you can never be sure it will be enough time. Everyone, not least the candidates, want the results as quickly as possible, so the pressure is on. A low turnout means fewer votes to count and we go home early. A high turnout, or close results leading to recounts could make things more tricky, and we have contingency plans to continue counting at the Council Offices in Epping if we need to go into Sunday.
As each result is announced, we also publish to the Council website and on our social media channels. Local reporters also vie to get the results out first.
Huge thank you
And when all the candidates, agents and count assistants have gone home, there is still a small team to clear all the chairs, tables and equipment away. Thankfully Monday is a Bank Holiday. We will need it!
It is a lot of work, but it is also fun. This is democracy in action. Elections are always history in the making. There is a great team spirit and I want to say a huge thank you in advance to all the volunteers who make it happen.
General Election
So, what of the General Election? We now know that it will be held sometime after the local elections in May. It must be held before 28 January 2025. Unlike the local elections, we will have very little notice. Only the Prime Minister knows when he will seek an audience with the King and request the Dissolution of Parliament. From that moment we have no more than 25 days to put all the arrangements back in place.
Elections are the cornerstone of our democracy. It is a privilege to lead the team of dedicated staff and volunteers at Epping Forest that make them happen. Whenever your next election is called, perhaps I will see you at one of our polling stations?
If you would like to know more, we have lots more information on the Council website.
Your vote really counts. Your vote really matters.
Georgina Blakemore
More Elections Blogs
- Elections Blogs 1: Democracy in Action
- Elections Blogs 2: Voter ID, Postal, Proxy and absent Votes
- Elections Blogs 3: Other Elections in May
Keep up to date
Keep in touch with our latest news, service updates and reports.