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(Iāve been learning Gaelic using Duolingo š)
I worked as an enumerator at my local GE count on Thursday night/Friday morn. Hereās a wee insight to my night...
Arrive at West Lothian College at 9:30pm (2 constituencies to count - Livingston and Linlithgow & East Falkirk)
Show ID and receive an enumerator pass
Locate all the nearest bathrooms, water fountains and vending machines for later
Go to the hall
Get assigned to a table
Sit at a table with three other enumerators
Familiarise selves with the regulations for spoiled ballots
Wait on the boxes getting delivered
Get first box to count at 10:30pm
Start count 1 - to calculate and confirm turnout
Unfold ballot papers
Band them into piles of fifty (face-up)
Swap piles with others at your table to check that youāve correctly counted fifty
Total up the number of ballot papers and write them on the forms provided (there is a separate form for the total of papers that donāt make up a pile of fifty)
Report total to the chief table enumerator for verification against polling station records
If the numbers of votes in the box match the numbers of votes that have been placed according to the polling station records - great! Move on to your next box until youāve finished count 1
If the numbers donāt match, recount!
If they still donāt match after a recount, send them to another table for recounting (usually any rogue numbers at this point are down to a polling station having two boxes and voters putting their ballot in the wrong box)
Have a quick break. Fruit and water was handed out to us all.
Begin count 2 (sorting the votes into parties and counting them) at 12:30am
Get a delivery of papers (they come in 500s, 750s and 1000s) and separate the ballot papers into parties
Any spoiled ballot papers or papers of unclear preference go in a ādoubtfulā pile
Start counting the party piles by banding them into fifties and spares
Check with the other members of your table that youāve counted the papers correctly, if not then recount
Write the parties and doubtful totals on the form provided
Total up the votes to see whether they match the number of papers you were given
If they do, write the total on the form and hand the form and ballots to the chief table enumerator
If they donāt, recount until they do!
Keep doing this until everything is counted.
Take a wee break
Wait for the provisional results to be told to the constituencyās candidates
Wait for announcement of the results
If the candidates are happy that the count has been fair, hear the results and then youāre free to go. We left about 4am after it was announced that the SNP won both seats.
If the candidates arenāt happy, stay for a recount!
Fun facts!
Candidates come to the count with all their campaign teams
Candidates do their own constituency exit polls by looking over your shoulder during count 1
Candidates are actually quite noisy and have conversations that make it difficult for enumerators to count
It is really evident to see who is winning after about five minutes of count 2
Nobody at the enumerator tables says who they voted for or who they support but they usually ask to count the pile of the party they like š
Enumerators arenāt allowed to have phones out at the table whilst there are ballot papers on it
Enumerators canāt work for a political party or for someone on behalf of a political party
Thimbles are provided to prevent sore thumbs and paper cuts
That being said, plenty of people donāt use them and cut their fingers so there are lots of piles going about with blood stains on them
Party candidates and campaign teams cheer as they watch the results on their phones and laptops - they can tell enumerators the results but enumerators shouldnāt react positively or negatively unless you congratulate the candidate informing them
McDonaldās drive thrus are open 24 hours and are actually very busy after counts
Spoiled ballots are weird! Some write āspoilā on them, others tick every box, some draw dicks on the sheet, others write āfucking none of them!ā. We even saw one wishing us ālovely enumerators a short night of countingā
How to get involved with the count
You need to get in touch with the elections team at your local council and express interest. Itās up to them after that!
Any more questions? Happy to answer š
