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Leave or Remain?
- Thread starter andy w
- Start date
John Marwood
I ♥ cryptic crosswords
Current best odds
Leave 5/1
Stick 1/4
Leave 5/1
Stick 1/4
Gramaisc
Forum O. G.
Let us remember.
The Representation of the People Act 2002 inserted a section 66A into the initial 1983 of the same name and this read as follows. It is a criminal offence ‘to publish, before a poll is closed, any statement about the way in which voters have voted in that election, where this statement is, or might reasonably be taken to be, based on information given by voters after they voted.’
Not only statements and statistics but also making forecasts based on exit polls, constitute an offence. The 2002 Act specifically makes it an offence ‘to publish, before a poll is closed, any forecast – including any estimate – of that election result, if the forecast is based on exit poll information from voters, or which might reasonably be taken to be based on it.
These laws apply to both Parliamentary and local elections, elections to the Welsh Assembly and to by-elections. The 2002 Act applies both to exit polls conducted to focus on voting in a particular constituency or ward and to voting patterns nationally. Furthermore, the publication of exit polls is also prohibited during voting for European Parliamentary elections.
The Representation of the People Act 2002 inserted a section 66A into the initial 1983 of the same name and this read as follows. It is a criminal offence ‘to publish, before a poll is closed, any statement about the way in which voters have voted in that election, where this statement is, or might reasonably be taken to be, based on information given by voters after they voted.’
Not only statements and statistics but also making forecasts based on exit polls, constitute an offence. The 2002 Act specifically makes it an offence ‘to publish, before a poll is closed, any forecast – including any estimate – of that election result, if the forecast is based on exit poll information from voters, or which might reasonably be taken to be based on it.
These laws apply to both Parliamentary and local elections, elections to the Welsh Assembly and to by-elections. The 2002 Act applies both to exit polls conducted to focus on voting in a particular constituency or ward and to voting patterns nationally. Furthermore, the publication of exit polls is also prohibited during voting for European Parliamentary elections.
1JKz
Well-Known Forumite
You've lost me...!
Gramaisc
Forum O. G.
Revealing how people have actually voted during an election is an offence - as is making predictions based or apparently based on that information.
Once polls have opened, it's best to be vague....
We've been here before.
Gramaisc
Forum O. G.
I am innocent - though one person on here has, technically, broken the law, so far - I would not expect that person to be jailed, well, not in Stafford anyway, unless other, more unpleasant offences are taken into account....
Nobody had actually voted until 7am today.
The word actually is the key one.
Actually, all the words are fairly key - and the order they're in, too.
littleme
250,000th poster!
I was only talking about this to the OH this morning, I distinctly remember going with a parent to vote when I was little & having to queue for ages. Maybe they didn't open for as long on the day as they do now.
Husband & I were the only people there when we went to vote....
Gramaisc
Forum O. G.
I doubt that the EU is involved in the count in any way - it's a fairly simple one, as most UK elections are, I would expect the result early tomorrow - subject to recounts, if close.
proactive
Enjoying a drop of red.
It's supposed to be all over bar the shouting by 8am ish tomorrow.
tek-monkey
wanna see my snake?
Its a UK referendum, no EU bureaucrats are involved. We can cock this one up ourselves!
Gramaisc
Forum O. G.
There was chaos at some polling stations last time - Sheffield, particularly, I believe - where some people were denied their vote as they weren't processed before 10pm - the law has been changed so that anybody actually queueing at 10pm will still get to vote.
macabremagpie
Active Member
It's basically fine to reveal your vote. It's illegal to reveal anyone else's. Here's a quote from around last years elections:
A statement by the Electoral Commission said: “A voter may volunteer information about who they voted for, provided no undue influence is exerted on them to do so.
“There is no explicit provision in law that prevents people from tweeting or re-tweeting that information. There is, however, provision to prevent exit polls to be published until polls have closed.”
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-32451429
A statement by the Electoral Commission said: “A voter may volunteer information about who they voted for, provided no undue influence is exerted on them to do so.
“There is no explicit provision in law that prevents people from tweeting or re-tweeting that information. There is, however, provision to prevent exit polls to be published until polls have closed.”
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-32451429
Gramaisc
Forum O. G.
We would have come to visit you, anyway.
As long as you were in a nice area.
It was really an effort to avoid this - http://www.staffordforum.com/xf/ind...-forum-exit-poll-general-election-2015.15763/ - again.
proactive
Enjoying a drop of red.
The level of accuracy there, compared to the actual result was quite astonishing.
Gramaisc
Forum O. G.
As with a lot of polls......
Gramaisc
Forum O. G.
Apparently, some polling stations have been closed by floods - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-36603508 .
1JKz
Well-Known Forumite
Floods of tears?