Thursday 4 June 2009

This week's blog will be short and sweet as well as early! As a Deputy Returning Officer for the Trowbridge area, the week is completely dominated by the election today. The week started on Saturday when members of the election team spent all day assembling the nearly one hundred ballot boxes and the myriad of supporting information that the Presiding Officers and Poll Clerks within each polling station need on the day. Thank you and well done Caroline and Lin. We then held six separate training sessions at Bradley Road for polling station staff to ensure the almost one hundred staff involved fully understand the process, what's required, etc.

Within the Trowbridge area, we will be conducting the election and count for 28 divisions out of the 98 within the new authority. Whilst the election is today, the main focus will be Friday where we will be verifying the ballot boxes all morning and then holding the actual count of the ballots cast for candidates in the afternoon. I should be announcing results from about 2-3 pm on Friday right through to late afternoon. These will be posted on the website as soon as they're announced, so keep an eye out to see how things are shaping up politically for the new council.

Thanks and have a good weekend. Speak again next week.

Carlton