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I open my curtains at 7am
This morning so far I have: had a shower, washed my hair, posted some stuff, voted, discovered a shop I wanted to go to was closed, and been in work (which is an hour's drive from my house) for nearly twenty minutes already. Blimey.
Having found my polling station - it's a tricky little blighter, and hides, and elections are sufficiently far apart to allow me to forget how to corner it - I got my set of forms.
Which always worries me. I mean, I went in, and handed them a polling card. When asked, I gave my name, confirming that I can read as well as steal polling cards. As it happens, it was my own card I handed over - but shouldn't I be asked to identify myself in some way ?
However. I filled in the little box on the local election form. I read the exciting list of parties available in the European elections - some of which I'd not even heard of. Then neatly, decisively and very blackly, I exercised my democratic right and put the cross in entirely the wrong box.
Feeling extremely stupid, I asked the bloke if there was any provision made for very stupid people who ticked the wrong box. "Oh no", he groaned, with the panic'd expression of one who did not have this eventuality covered in the briefing, and has no idea what to do. I asked if I could borrow the eraser sitting on his desk. He handed it over with the relief of someone who's found a way to make a problem go away, rather than solved it.
I rubbed out the cross, and made a new one (in the right box). It's obvious who I intended to vote for. Sadly, anyone who looked carefully could see the rubbed-out-cross too, so I don't actually know whether I rendered my ballot paper invalid. The bloke on the desk said it would be "ok, so long as it's obvious what you meant", but I'm really not sure I believe him :(
Actually, I didn't open my curtains, but we'll let that pass.
Having found my polling station - it's a tricky little blighter, and hides, and elections are sufficiently far apart to allow me to forget how to corner it - I got my set of forms.
Which always worries me. I mean, I went in, and handed them a polling card. When asked, I gave my name, confirming that I can read as well as steal polling cards. As it happens, it was my own card I handed over - but shouldn't I be asked to identify myself in some way ?
However. I filled in the little box on the local election form. I read the exciting list of parties available in the European elections - some of which I'd not even heard of. Then neatly, decisively and very blackly, I exercised my democratic right and put the cross in entirely the wrong box.
Feeling extremely stupid, I asked the bloke if there was any provision made for very stupid people who ticked the wrong box. "Oh no", he groaned, with the panic'd expression of one who did not have this eventuality covered in the briefing, and has no idea what to do. I asked if I could borrow the eraser sitting on his desk. He handed it over with the relief of someone who's found a way to make a problem go away, rather than solved it.
I rubbed out the cross, and made a new one (in the right box). It's obvious who I intended to vote for. Sadly, anyone who looked carefully could see the rubbed-out-cross too, so I don't actually know whether I rendered my ballot paper invalid. The bloke on the desk said it would be "ok, so long as it's obvious what you meant", but I'm really not sure I believe him :(
Actually, I didn't open my curtains, but we'll let that pass.
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You're weird, you are.
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On the plus side, I didn't have to walk to a polling station smack bang in the middle of a remarkably scary sink estate.
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(And, apprently, clear instructions to this effect are written on the back of a polling card, so it's also a shame I hadn't read mine.)
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You can see examples of disputed ballot papers at the end of this guidance for returning officers [PDF].
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I'd go and make a fuss and grumble that I hadn't been given a new ballot paper if I didn't feel so damn silly for crossing the wrong box in the first place.
Thanks for those, though - if it's allowable to scribble out your first cross and put a second, then I figure it's probably OK to erase your first cross and put a second in.
I hadn't realised your vote was invalid if you wrote something which identified you on the paper. That surprises me.
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With postal votes, as news stories are suggesting, other people can ask to see your ballot paper before you send it off )-:
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Ditto, the paper at the top-left of page 106 (numbered "page 104") seems pretty clear to me. Why is 1-2-3 different from tick-cross-cross?
Was amused bySurely, as per the ox.faq of legend, paying entirely in £1 and £2 coins, would be legal tender?
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I don't know the legend, so don't know the amount to be paid.
But I think that the rule is something along the lines of (if we number the denominations) coins of denomination X can only be used to pay amounts up to denomination X+2.
So, you can only pay up to 50p in ten-pence pieces, £1 in 20-pence-pieces, etc. I may be wrong about the value of 2, and I don't believe it's really enforced very often, but I think the law is something like that.
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http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/legaltender.htm is more official but rather incomplete.
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20p and 50p coins are legal tender up to a total value of 10 pounds.
5p and 10p coins are legal tender up to a total value of 5 pounds.
1p and 2p coins are legal tender up to a total of 20 pence.
So actually 2 = 3 or 4.
And the official site says:
"The current series of Bank of England notes are legal tender in England and Wales, although not in Scotland or Northern Ireland, where the only currency carrying legal tender status for unlimited amounts is the one pound and two pound coins. "
So (unless you're in a silly Celtic region), anything from a one pound coin up is legal in unlimited amounts.
So whatever the ox.faq of legend is, it is at least plausible.
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So actually 2 = 3 or 4.
Are you an engineer?!
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I used to be a mathematician, but I think I dried dirty :)
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Oh :(
I had mistakenly inferred an exciting and daredevil anecdote involving an ox.individual trying to pay an electoral deposit in one pound coins, or something.
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Incidentally, I was required to put one paper into one box and the other two into the other box, each of them a specific way up. I reckon between that and ineptitude with the crayons they'll probably receive at least 10% invalid ballots !
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Which will be counted by hand.
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Mind you, if I hadn't folded it, it wouldn't have gone in the teeny tiny slot, so I'm guessing that's a "no". My vote will be hand-read :)
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:)
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<looks at icon>
<looks at username>
<looks briefly in mirror and at photo driving-licence<
Nope.
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You keep using that word.
I do not think it means what you think it means...
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