Scottish Parliament and Local Government Elections

Scottish Parliament and Local Government Elections

IN THE COUNTING CENTRE

Introduction and Overview of the Counting Process

The count is a critical part of the election process. There will be around 4,500 people staffing count centres across Scotland.

Given the fact that these are the first elections for a Scottish Parliament and given the fact that a system of proportional representation is being used for the first time in the UK, it is likely that voters, the media, Political Parties and Individual Candidates will be particularly interested in the way votes are counted.

The objective of everyone working on the count throughout the country is the same - to make sure that the votes are counted fairly, efficiently and accurately. You therefore need to be fully conversant with the procedures to be followed. The transparency of the process should inspire confidence in all those who will be observing you.

As for the rest of the electoral process, ensuring the secrecy of the ballot during the count remains paramount. A copy of the relevant provisions of the Scottish Parliament (Elections Etc) Order 1999 forms an Annex to this part of this manual.

NB. The equivalent provisions of the Representation of the People Act 1983 still apply to the Local Government Count.

The polling stations will close at 10pm. Where practical all the sealed ballot boxes, unused election materials, polling station supplies and the ballot paper accounts (and other paperwork) will be delivered to the counting centre immediately after the close of Poll. The Returning Officer will decide on the quickest and most efficient means of transportation.

Each polling station will return ballot boxes containing the ballot papers for each election. There are three different types of ballot paper:

Scottish Parliament Constituency elections PURPLE Ballot Paper

Scottish Parliament Regional elections PEACH Ballot Paper

Local Government elections WHITE Ballot Paper

The ballot boxes for the Constituency elections, the Regional elections, and the Local Government elections from each polling station will be opened and checked to make sure that none of them contains a ballot paper which should be in another ballot box from that station. If a wrong coloured ballot paper is found in the wrong ballot box then it will be transferred to the correct one for that polling station.

The Ballot Paper Accounts for the Scottish Parliament elections will be verified immediately.

The counting of the constituency (PURPLE) and regional (PEACH) ballot papers for the Scottish Parliament elections will take place on (substantial) completition of the verification stage.

The verification and count for the Local Government elections will commence no sooner than 10am the next day.

1 ARRANGEMENTS PRIOR TO POLLING DAY

1a Booking of Premises for the Count

The Returning Officer should ensure that suitable premises in which to hold the Count have been booked, and arrangements made for them to be checked for security purposes.

1b Appointment of Supervisors, Assistant Supervisors and Enumerators

The Returning Officer will appoint Supervisors, Assistant Supervisors and Enumerators to verify and count the ballot papers, and such other assistants required for carrying out the required duties. The actual designations of these staff will vary across Scotland.

1c Appointment of Counting Agents

The Returning Officer will advise the Individual Candidates, Political Parties and their Election Agents of the number of Counting Agents that they may appoint to observe the Count.

1d Attendance at the Count

Those entitled to be present at the Count will be:

Returning Officers and their staff
Individual Candidates
Election Agents
Counting Agents
Anyone else by invitation of the Returning Officer.

2. STAGE ONE: THE VERIFICATION OF THE BALLOT PAPER ACCOUNTS

2a. Purpose of Verification

The verification of the Scottish Parliament ballot papers will take place after the close of poll. The ballot papers for the Local Government elections will be dealt with later, but will follow the same procedures.

The purpose of the verification of the Ballot Paper Accounts is to check that the number of ballot papers issued to the polling station (both ordinary and tendered) is the same as the number returned (used, unused or spoilt).

An example of a completed Ballot Paper Account can be seen on opposite page.

To this end the Ballot Paper Accounts for each election for each polling station will be verified against the:

number of ballot papers counted in the ballot boxes after taking account of any ballot papers placed by voters in an incorrect box from that polling station
unused and spoilt ballot papers returned
list of tendered votes for that polling station
the number of ballot papers issued but unused by voters which will have been put in separate envelopes by the Presiding Officer and the number of them noted on the relevant Ballot Paper Account.

2b. Arrival of the Ballot Boxes

Sufficient space in the Counting Centre should be set aside to accommodate the ballot boxes and packages from each polling station.

The Ballot Paper Account envelopes must be kept with the relevant Ballot Boxes from each Polling Station.

Areas will need to be set aside to place:

(a) ballot boxes (containing the unverified ballot papers)

(b) unused and spoilt ballot papers and the tendered votes list

A separate area will also need to be identified for the storage of empty ballot boxes after their contents have been verified.

The main task at this stage will be to record receipt of each ballot box and ballot paper account and to make sure that the right number of ballot boxes has been delivered along with the related Ballot Paper Accounts.

The following packets/envelopes will be delivered containing:

Ballot Paper Account (for each ballot paper type)
Unused and Spoilt Ballot Papers (both tendered and ordinary - for each ballot paper type)
Counterfoils of Used and Spoilt Ballot Papers for each ballot paper type and Certificates of Employment
Marked Copy of the Register of Electors and List of Proxies
Tendered Ballot Papers marked by voters (for each ballot paper type)
List of Tendered Votes, List of Blind Persons assisted by Companions, List of Votes marked by the Presiding Officer, Statement of Number of Votes marked by the Presiding Officer and Declarations made by Companions of Blind Voters
Stamping Instrument(s), Presiding Officer's sundries and all other posters/notices displayed at the polling station (usually in a separate sack or bag).

The ballot boxes and their corresponding Ballot Paper Accounts will normally be delivered to the appropriate counting table.

The rest of the materials and packages should be stored in a separate area ready for packing and sealing. The List of Tendered Votes and the packets containing the counterfoils of used ballot papers and spoilt ballot papers should be available if they need to be checked during the verification.

2c Opening the Ballot Boxes - Seperation and Verification

Before the Scottish Parliament ballot papers are verified each Scottish Parliament ballot box and the Local Government ballot box from the same polling station must be opened and turned out. The ballot papers from all 3 boxes should be sorted FACE DOWN to ascertain whether any ballot papers for each form of election within that polling station have been deposited in the wrong box. If so such ballot papers should be transferred systematically to the correct box and treated thereafter as though they had been placed in the correct box for that station. A note as to any transfers made among boxes may be made on each appropriate ballot paper account in order that verification can take place thereafter with such adjustments known.

Once this process is complete each Local Government ballot box should be re-sealed and set aside for verification and counting the next day. It is critical that at no point an unsealed box is left unattended.

The verification process for the Scottish Parliament elections should now commence (a similar process will take place the next day for the Local Government elections). At this stage Enumerators will not be counting the votes cast. The purpose is to verify that the number of ballot papers in each ballot box (including those transferred under the previous process) matches the numbers entered on the Ballot Paper Account completed by the Presiding Officer.

The ballot papers will be counted FACE UPWARD throughout the verification.

Remember: The Consituency and Regional ballot papers for the Scottish Parliament elections will be dealt with separately.

An Assistant Supervisor will open the ballot box and empty the contents onto the counting table. The empty box will then be shown to any Counting Agents present.

The Enumerators will unfold and count the ballot papers face upwards. Ballot papers will be placed the same way round and counted in bundles of fifty or other appropriate number at the discretion of the Returning Officer.

A paper clip or rubber band will be used to secure the bundle. Any remaining ballot papers (i.e. less than fifty as the case may be) will be clipped together with a note on a slip of paper showing the actual number.

The Assistant Supervisor will then record the total number of ballot papers for that ballot box on a slip. The Assistant Supervisor will then return to the Supervisor to check whether the number of ballot papers counted matches the number written on the Ballot Paper Account. If it does, then the Supervisor will enter the relevant total on to a Ballot Paper Account Summary Sheet (or similar such record). The Supervisor will then place the verified ballot papers in receptacles provided for the retention and mixing of the ballot papers.

2d What to do if the Number of Ballot Papers does not match the Ballot Paper Account

In instances where the figures do not match the Enumerators will be asked to recount the ballot papers. If on a recount the subsequent count produces the same figure that figure, and not the figure recorded on the Ballot Paper Account, will normally be accepted and a note to that effect will be made on the Ballot Paper Account Summary Sheet, or equivalent, as directed by the Returning Officer. If a different figure is produced on recount then further recounts will be required until the supervisor is satisfied as to the accuracy of the number of ballot papers in the ballot box.

If the discrepancy between the number of ballot papers counted and the entry on the Ballot Paper Account is inexplicably high then it may be necessary to check the numbers of unused and spoilt ballot papers.

Once any error has been remedied, the Assistant Supervisor will place the bundles of verified ballot papers in the receptacles for them. The Assistant Supervisor will collect another ballot box. The process continues until all ballot boxes have been verified for both the Constituency (PURPLE ballot paper) and Regional (PEACH ballot papers) elections.

2e Postal Ballot Papers

The Returning Officer will bring to the Count the ballot boxes containing the postal ballot papers and the Postal Ballot Paper Accounts. Some of these may have been processed earlier in the day to a stage where they can be included in the Count, but any additional postal votes will require processing usually using a small section of Enumerators. Once processed these ballot papers will then be mixed with the other relevant verified ballot papers. Any postal ballot paper envelopes which arrive after the close of the poll should be retained by the Returning Officer and entered in the relevant statement regarding postal ballot papers.

2f Conclusion of Verification Stage

At the conclusion of the verification all the verified ballot papers will have been placed in receptacles for them. The Returning Officer may then calculate the percentage turnout in that constituency.