Thousands of votes spoilt in PCC Cheshire election

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Thousands of ballot papers were spoilt in the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) election in Cheshire.

In total 5507 ballot papers were rejected which represents just under 3% of the votes. 1794 didn't count because people voted for more than one candidate for their first preference vote and 1592 were rejected because the paper was unmarked as to the first preference vote.

PCCs are elected using the supplementary vote system, in which voters can select their first and second choices. A candidate needs to get at least 51 per cent of the vote to win, if this doesn't happen then the two candidates with the most votes got though to the next round and the second choices are counted and added to the total from the first vote.

UKIP Councillor Brian Silvester is calling for the resignation of the Returning Officer as a result of the number of rejected ballot papers.

He said,"I warned the Returning Officer before the vote that unless a public information exercise was carried out there would be masses of rejected ballot papers but nothing was done.For example, it was not made clear, if you just made a first preference vote, if that vote would be counted or if you could vote for the same candidate as a first and a second preference.

"In 2012 there were 5047 rejected votes.That was scandalous and lessons should have been learned from that.Sadly those lessons were not learned and this time the number of spoilt votes has risen to 5507

"This fiasco should not have happened.The Returning Officer had a duty to inform the voters before the day of how this hybrid voting system worked."

David Parr, Police Area Returning Officer for the Cheshire Police Area said "The Police and Crime Commissioner Elections for the Cheshire Police Area were conducted in accordance with national legislation.

"At no time have any of the 4 candidates challenged the conduct of the election and at the conclusion of the election all 4 candidates complimented the Returning Officer and his staff on the proper and efficient conduct of the election.

"All instructions and forms used in the election were prepared in accordance with all relevant and appropriate legal requirements, namely the Police and Crime Commissioner Order 2012, and Guidance from the Electoral Commission.

"There was a clear statement on the face of the Ballot Paper that electors had 2 choices as to who to vote for. It is for the elector to decide how to vote or whether they wish to use or spoil their first and/or second choice vote.

"It would be inappropriate for the Returning Officer to be seen to be advising an elector how to exercise their vote."

The Labour Candidate David Keane defeated the first Police & Crime Commissioner for Cheshire, Conservative candidate John Dwyer, after the Lib Dem and UKIP candidates were elimated after the first round, by votes 2949 on Thursday, 5th May.

David Keane, 38, is a law graduate and has served as a local councillor for 17 years, with five years' experience at Cabinet level on Warrington Borough Council, with responsibility for Environment & Public Protection.

He took up his new role on Thursday, 12th May and is spending his first days meeting officers and police staff, before embarking on a 'listening' tour of the county where he will be listening to the views of the Cheshire public, businesses and visitors on how policing can better meet their needs.

Mr Keane said "I'm determined to get out and about to listen to the views of the public, community leaders, businesses and so on, building on the pledges that I made during the election to build neighbourhood policing, get more police officers on our streets, and to improve community engagement. I will be announcing in the next couple of weeks a series of 'listening' events over the summer and autumn, to help shape my Police and Crime Plan."

The overall turnout was 24%.

Tags:
Cheshire Police & Crime Commissioner, Elections
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Comments

Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below.

Bill Chapman
Tuesday 17th May 2016 at 7:33 pm
I see that UKIP Councillor Brian Silvester is calling for the resignation of the Returning Officer as a result of the number of rejected ballot papers. He is fond of calling for people to be sacked – everyone but himself.

Could this be the disgraced Cheshire East councillor Brian Silvester who was spared jail in 2012 but had to pay almost £70,000 after admitting putting vulnerable lives at risk at his rented property in Crewe? Is this the same Brian Silvester who resigned from the Conservative group in 2012 after being prosecuted for breaching fire safety regulations?

Could this possibly be the same Cllr Silvester, who, after campaigning against developments in and around Crewe because, ‘maintaining the green gap is a massive issue for residents’, tried to cash in on his own countryside land by getting Richborough Estates to promote it as suitable for housing?

Is this Brian Silvester the same person as the former Cheshire East councillor who breached the members’ code of conduct when he called for a top council officer to be sacked during a radio interview, a standards committee ruled lasted December?
Mark Goldsmith
Wednesday 18th May 2016 at 11:22 am
Let's save any confusion and just scrap the PCC post altogether.