Smoothly ran election in Newton Abbot says council

In the light of

many stories of polling fiascos around the country – Teignbridge Council has

said that yesterday went smoothly in Newton Abbot.

In a result announced shortly

before 4am today (Friday 7 May) Conservative

Party candidate Anne Marie Morris was elected as MP for the newly created

Newton Abbot constituency.

A Teignbridge spokesman said: “An impressive 70% of eligible

voters turned out for the election, with 49,949 ballot papers issued by

administering authority Teignbridge District Council. 

“In total 76

ballot papers were rejected during the count - 22 for voting for more

candidates than the voter was entitled to; 2 for writing or marking the ballot

paper in way which meant the voter could be identified; and 52 for being wholly

unmarked or wholly void for uncertainty.

“Teignbridge

Council's 400-strong army of election staff oversaw polling throughout the day,

the return and processing of 53 ballot boxes, and the smoothly run count. Several

staff from Newton Abbot Leisure Centre worked right through the night to ensure

that the centre was as good as new and open for business as usual on Friday

morning.

“Changes

to constituency boundaries came into effect with the recent dissolution of

parliament, so yesterday residents living within the area served by Teignbridge

District Council were voting for candidates in either the Newton Abbot or Central

Devon constituencies.  

“This meant that some residents who used

to vote in the Totnes constituency voted in the Newton Abbot one for the first

time.  Despite the changes

the polling process and count ran smoothly, with no issues reported.”