The report, by elections watchdog the Electoral Commission, confirms that thousands of people, including hundreds of students, were denied their vote by poor planning and ill-prepared elections staff, including in the Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg’s own Sheffield Hallam constituency.
The report recommends that at future elections any voters present at the polling place, including those queuing outside, when the poles close, should be allowed to vote.
Speaking about the recommendations, NUS President-elect, Aaron Porter, said:
“Huge numbers of students came out to vote on polling day, many of them for the first time, and hundreds of them were denied their democratic right. The recommendations in this report are important first steps in ensuring that students and other members of the electorate are able to vote and we call on the new Government to make sure the changes are made before the next local or national elections.”
However, the report did not mention the segregation of students from other voters at one Sheffield polling station. Commenting, Mr Porter said:
“We still need to get to the bottom of the situation where groups of students at one Sheffield polling place were sent to the back of the queue when it became clear that not everyone would be able to vote in time. Reasons given at the time and subsequently appear to contradict each other and a more thorough investigation is needed to ensure students were not deliberately targeted.”
The full report can be downloaded from the Electoral Commission website here.