Reminder To Use Numbers On The Ballot Paper
19th April 2012
Voters reminded to mark their Council Election ballot papers with numbers.
Returning Officer Alistair Dodds (centre) is eager that voters use numbers and not a cross on their ballot papers at the forthcoming Council elections on 3 May. He is pictured with Andy O'Neill, lead officer in Scotland with the Electoral Commission, who is travelling around Scotland to help people know how to vote at the elections.
Also in the picture are young and old voters, Stuart Davidson, Highland Youth Convener, Mrs Cairine MacDonald, Inverness, and Mr Raymond Smart, Alness, who is visually impaired.
Voters taking part in the forthcoming Highland Council elections on Thursday 3 May are reminded that in filling in their ballot papers they should use numbers against the name of candidates in order of choice, using 1, 2, 3 and so on - and not a cross.
Voters can make as many or as few choices as they wish. They don't have to number every candidate. As long as the voter numbers at least one candidate, their vote will be counted. If a voter makes a mistake on their ballot paper, they can ask for a new one.
Voters are therefore invited to put the number 1 in the voting box next to their first choice; a 2 in the voting box beside their second choice; a 3 in the voting box next to their third choice and so on.
Most people vote in person at their polling station. There are 271 polling stations in the Highlands. Polling stations are open between 7 am and 10 pm on Thursday 3 May.
Voters can also vote by post. When the deadline for postal vote applications passed on Wednesday, 18 April, 27,273 people had registered to vote in this way. Ballot papers will be sent to voters who have chosen to vote by post on Monday 23 April. Postal votes should be returned in the enclosed stamped addressed envelope by 3 May. They can also be handed in to any polling station up until 10 pm on 3 May.
Voters should have received a poll card by post telling them where their polling station is.
If voters have not received a poll card they should contact the Council's Election Helpline on 01349 886657.
The count of all votes cast in the 22 Council wards will take place at Inverness Leisure, Bught Lane, Inverness, on Friday 4 May.
The Highland electorate is 176,226.
The system being used to count the votes is the Single Transferable Vote. The ballot paper lists the name of each candidate. To be elected a candidate must reach a set amount of votes known as the quota. The votes are counted in stages. In the first stage, only first preferences are counted. Anyone who reaches the quota is elected. Any votes received over the quota are not needed by the elected candidate and so are transferred to the second preference. If not enough candidates have reached the quota, the candidate with the lowest number of votes is eliminated and all of their votes are passed to the next preference on the ballot papers. This process is repeated until three or four candidates have been elected.
A total of 170 candidates are seeking election to the 80 seats on The Highland Council. There are 14 four-member wards and 8 three-member wards.
Related Businesses
Related Articles
Members have considered an update on the Council's medium term financial plan and the impact of the UK and Scottish Governments’ budgets on the coming year’s funding settlement. The position is currently looking more positive than initially planned for, however more detail needs to be worked through.
In November, The Highland Council launched a public statutory consultation to seek views on the proposed introduction of a Visitor Levy scheme across the Highlands. The Council has announced an extension to this consultation period, which will now give businesses, visitors and communities until 31 March 2025, an additional seven weeks, to take part and have their say.
In the light of the financial forecast for 2025-26, Highland Council is inviting you to tell us more in the budget preparation for the coming financial year. The budget engagement builds on extensive budget participation which took place in the winter of 2023-24.
The information provided is a summary of reports from operational staff and is intended to give a general indication of typical conditions in each area at a point in time. It is not intended to imply that any individual route is entirely snow and ice free and drivers must be aware that conditions can change rapidly and make their own assessment of conditions for travelling.
Every year Highland Council invites all tenants to have their say on the rent levels for the following year. The Council encourages everyone that lives in a council house to take this chance to have their say.
Communities and Place Committee met yesterday (Wednesday 27 November 2024) and Members agreed the Highland Local Child Poverty Action Report which includes actions for delivery in 2024/25. Reducing child poverty is a priority for the Council and its partners.
The information provided is a summary of reports from operational staff and is intended to give a general indication of typical conditions in each area at a point in time. It is not intended to imply that any individual route is entirely snow and ice free and drivers must be aware that conditions can change rapidly and make their own assessment of conditions for travelling.
Members of the Highland Council's Community and Place Committee have given their support to an action plan focusing on the operating of public conveniences over the next 10 years. Whilst not a statutory function, the Council is the main provider of public conveniences located throughout Highland, operating 74 sites.
A report published on 27 November 2024 by LGIU (Local Government Information Unit) looks at the state of funding for councils by the Scottish Government. Confidence in the sustainability of council finances is critically low.
At today's (Wednesday 27 November 2024) Communities & Place Committee, Members agreed the most appropriate long-term strategic direction for residual waste management is to continue to utilise a merchant provider solution. Communities & Place Committee Chair, Cllr Graham MacKenzie said: "After careful consideration and analysis it has been agreed that a merchant provider solution is considered the most appropriate long term solution to our statutory waste management obligations, and that an energy-from- waste facility within the Highlands is not considered to be a suitable course of action.
