Saturday 7 May 2011

The morning after



Not a long post as I'm still recovering from the democratic marathon of the last couple of days. But here we are, results all known and the post match analysis well underway. I can't - and actually don't want to - comment on the results but I do want to tell you a bit about my experience of the process.

I've had the great privilege to spend the last 2 days playing an active role in the election and it has been fantastic. It's a real perk of my job that I get to take part.

For me, election day started at 6am on Thursday as I headed out to start my round of Polling Place inspections and it all ended last night at 5pm when we finished the AV referendum count. I did manage to squeeze some sleep in there on Friday morning between 2 and 6 am, but otherwise I was on the go the whole time.

It's a long, hard graft - and believe it or no,t I got off lightly by only needing to be involved on the day (and day after!) itself. For many of my colleagues it's been a marathon that's taken over the last few months to make sure that all the arrangements ran smoothly on the day - sorting the polling places, recruiting and training the polling and count staff, administering the postal ballots, registering the candidates, making up the polling place packs and much much more.

It's a lot of work and effort, yes. But it is one of the most important things we do, so that's fitting. I never cease to be impressed by the professionalism and efficiency of our elections team. It's due in no small part to them and their hard work that things ran so smoothly. Well done, guys.

And well done too, to all of you who went out and voted. I'd have loved the turn out to be higher but over 50% wasn't bad. Turnout in Stirling was a little bit higher than average at nearer 57% but it does mean that almost 1 in 2 people eligible to vote opted not to.

But if you missed out, don't worry - you'll get another chance next May in the council elections!

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