Cambridge voters can cast their vote a week early in a new pilot scheme
Voters have praised a new pilot scheme allowing them to cast their vote for next week’s election early.
Alex Downie and his wife Fiona came to vote at the Guildhall in central Cambridge – one of three locations where votes can be cast this week from Thursday to Saturday. He said: “I think it’s a very good idea, because if you’re going on holiday it’s otherwise very awkward to vote – it’s important for democracy.”
The 77-year-old said they would register for postal vote otherwise, but praised the scheme for making voting much more convenient. He said: “It’s better this way because we come into town quite a lot – it’s nice and straight forward.”
Fiona, 66, added: “It’s fantastic, because as Alex said we were going to be away so we didn’t want to do a postal vote because it’s more hassle. Sometimes it’s hard to vote when you’re working, I once almost missed it. This was perfect – quick, easy and we were coming into town anyway. Do it all the time, do it in the general election!”
Voting will be open from 9am until 6pm and votes can also be cast at the Meadows Community Centre on Arbury Road and Clay Farm Centre in Trumpington.
Chris Burton said: “It was a very, very, efficient experience – immensely convenient because I’m not here next week and I don’t want to go through the postal vote and all of that. I do tend to be away from Cambridge the first or second week in May – this week is earlier, it’s the first week.”
Though he said he’s never failed to vote while being away, the 80-year-old said: “It just gets more complicated when you’ve got to take a postal vote.
“The fact you can come here and bring the day forward effectively works very well indeed – so as long as the system works on a legal basis, that’s all that matters.”
Corin Hoad praised the flexibility, after a last-minute change of plans meant he couldn’t make it to vote in person on May 7. The 32-year-old said: “It means I can still make it without having to worry about getting a last-minute postal vote or anything like that.
“You should have another few days to vote and have that flexibility – it should enable a lot more people to vote for a politician they might not have been able to.”
Vicky Jenner, electoral services manager at Cambridge City Council, said turnout was “busier than we expected” suggesting earlier voting “is an appealing option for many.”
She said: “We’ve received some very positive feedback from early voters, and in fact some people were so keen to take part that they were queuing outside at 9 o’clock this morning, waiting for the doors to open. Ultimately, giving people more options for how they can cast their vote is about strengthening democracy and enabling even more people to get involved in important decisions affecting their lives and the place they call home.”


You must be logged in to post a comment Login