Go And Vote! Get Others Out To Vote Too…!

As usual we have kept objective at Wrexham.com during this election period, but today have a political message: Go and vote!

Polls are open from 7am to 10pm today – with the results known locally perhaps as soon as 1am, and if you check Wrexham.com from around 10pm onwards we will have live coverage from the count at the Wrexham Glyndwr University sports hall.

You will get to vote for three things today…

• Local Assembly Member vote
• Regional Assembly list vote
• Your first and second choice for North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner.

Voting is your chance to indicate what you think and you have that chance today so make sure you do. If you do not fancy voting, you may choose to do what quite a few have said they will be doing – that is spoiling their ballot – this is also a recorded number.

Some readers have asked how do you actually vote …

• Go to your local polling station, which will be open between 7am and 1opm and are usually staffed by volunteers (go them!)
• Tell the staff your name and address so they can check the electoral register.
• You will get given ballot papers.
• Take your ballot papers into the polling booth and *read them carefully* making sure you put a X where required, do not write more on the papers or they may not be counted!!
• After you have voted fold the paper and take it to the right ballot box – do not let anyone else see who you voted for.

NOTE: A few have asked, you do NOT need to take your polling card with you, but if you have one you can. Of course you can only vote if you’re actually registered!

There are two PDF documents on the Council website showing the lists of polling station and locations if you do not know where you have to go one for Wrexham is here, and the other for Clwyd South is here.

SELFIES!
Resist the urge to take a selfie with your ballot paper as it could cause some legal problems! The law says it should be a secret vote, so pictures inside the polling stations are a no no, but feel free to go wild outside the building them and tweet them to us!

SOD EM IM SPOILING IT!
For those looking to spoil your ballot we have had this insiders view previously passed to us: “If you are going to spoil your ballot make it interesting as they are checked, so more quick jokes and less swearing”. We have been told that essays have been written, jokes added, extra boxes with fictional candidates.

Candidates do get a chance to ‘inspect’ spoilt ballots, so you can write direct messages to them but your vote will not be counted so the impact is lessened.

Be warned though, aside from your mark (the ‘X’) any other scribbles or marks could be seen as you spoiling your ballot paper so be clear with your vote!

Rejection can happen if you vote for more than one candidate, or vote for no one. If you write anything on the paper which could identify you – such as your name or address – it will be rejected as votes have to be anonymous. Finally, if the ‘voter’s intention is unclear’ it will get rejected, this latter category is the one most used for er, imaginatively spoilt papers.

Hopefully you will exercise your right to vote, or not vote, and join us at the count later this evening for our live coverage!