MP Helen Jones has slammed the “shambolic” way local elections were run in Warrington.
The Warrington North MP says she has joined Labour councillors in demanding a full review of the organisation of both borough and parish elections.
She is demanding an independent enquiry – by an experienced returning officer from a neighbouring borough – be carried out and recommendations put forward to prevent future problems.
“Democracy is too important to be left to chance,” she said.
She added: “The serious issues being raised are not party political. Supporters of all three main parties have expressed concern to me about different aspects of the way these elections have been conducted.”
She said other politicians had joined her in criticising the way the elections were run and that one experienced campaigner described them as “a disgrace” and the worst he had experienced in 48 years.
Complaints include a lack of consultation over a review of polling stations – which would have meant one sited near a candidate’s home, and another a mile away from the community it served.
She also complained about a failure to deliver many polling cards across the borough which resulted in many people failing to vote because they thought they needed a polling card.
She said: “The council response was piecemeal and knee jerk with ineffective flyers delivered by council staff in some areas and not others.”
The MP said that Peter Caswell, who was elected in the Glazebury ward of the Culcheth and Glazebury Parish Council, has a list of people who said they had no card and could not vote.
He also complained that the conduct of the count at Woolston Leisure Centre was “a disgrace.”
Other complaints raised by the MP included lack of disabled ramps at polling stations, and failure to deliver postal votes with elderly people being asked to collect papers from the Town Hall.
The MP said in one instance votes from two different council wards were cast in one ballot box.
She also complained that candidates and agents were unable to speak to the returning officer on duty – so problems could not be addressed effectively. She said in at least two parish council counts candidates were not informed of the count and so could not scrutinise proceedings.
A borough council spokeswoman said: “The duty of the Returning Officer is to ensure that elections to the borough and parish councils are conducted in a fair, impartial and proper manner and the council takes any allegation of improper conduct very seriously.
“Where issues have been raised, these have been fully considered and responded to.
“As is the case with all elections, we will review all electoral processes and procedures to ensure that lessons are learned and we make it as simple and straightforward as possible for people to turn out and exercise their democratic right to vote.”
