Why students should vote

We talked to a student from the University of Huddersfield about why it’s important to vote.

By the way, the Students Union at the University of Huddersfield have been doing loads to encourage students to register and to vote.

Russell’s temporary polling station

We visited a temporary polling station today – handy for the neighbours and very friendly, if a bit noisy. Thanks to Presiding Officer Russell for the tour.

Voting in the Greenhead Ward in 2015

There’s something a bit different about voting in the district elections in the Greenhead Ward of Kirklees. Presiding Officer Julie explains more…

Why I’m voting

We’ve been out visiting polling stations on election day. Thanks to this first time voter for telling us why it’s important to vote…

Local Democracy for Everyone – free events

Local Democracy for Everyone is a series of free events in Huddersfield from 5th to 7th February 2015, for anyone who is interested in local democracy.

Radical Heritage Trail

Saturday 7th February 2015
1.30pm to 3.30pm

Venue: Meet at the Harold Wilson statue in St. George’s Square, Huddersfield

Discover Huddersfield’s rich heritage of radical politics in this free guided walk.

Starting from the Harold Wilson statue in St George’s Square, this free guided trail will visit town centre sites that are associated with the Luddites, Chartists, the early days of the Labour Party, the anti-war movement during World War One and lots more.

The walk will be led by Cyril Pearce, author of ‘Comrades in Conscience’ which tells the story of Huddersfield’s conscientious objectors, whose opposition to the Great War earned Huddersfield the reputation of being ‘a hotbed of pacifism’.

The walk will last up to two hours and you’ll have an opportunity to drop in to the Media Centre at the end for a hot drink and to see the conclusion of the “We’re not in Westminster any more” event which will bring together advocates for redesigning local democracy.

This event is being run in collaboration with Discover Huddersfield and Huddersfield Local History Society.

PechaKucha
Friday 6th February 2015
7pm to 8pm

Venue: Café Ollo, The Media Centre, Northumberland Street, Huddersfield

Join us for PechaKucha Night from 7pm to 8pm at The Media Centre in Huddersfield to hear about people’s passions and interests – or share your own. Each speaker will talk for 6 minutes 40 seconds each, following a “20 slides for 20 seconds” format. The evening includes some of our local democratic history. Free admission. Licensed bar. Everyone welcome. This event is being run in collaboration with The Media Centre.

Democracy of Print
Saturday 7th February 2015
10am to 12 noon & 1pm to 3pm

Venue: The Media Centre lobby, Northumberland Street, Huddersfield

Join in making a printed banner inspired by Huddersfield’s radical heritage. From the Luddites and the Chartists to the present day, printmaking has played an important part in the development of democracy. Now it’s your turn!

Local artist Amy Hirst will be helping us to make a printed banner to capture our conversations about local democracy as part of the “We’re not in Westminster” conference on 7th February. You can drop in to add yourself to the banner and make your own campaign badge to take home.

 

National Voter Registration Day
5th & 7th February 2015

Our Local Democracy for Everyone events are happening in the same week as National Voter Registration Day. Many local organisations are campaigning to get people registered to vote this week – especially younger people who are massively under-represented on the electoral register.

You can drop in to register to vote at many venues across Kirklees on Thursday 5th February, including at Kirklees Libraries (it’s late night opening in Huddersfield), at Customer Service Centres and at a special mobile hub outside Huddersfield Bus Station. Or visit the elections outreach team in the lobby of The Media Centre on Saturday 7th February, from 10am to 12 noon & 1pm to 3pm.

You can find out more about all these events at:
Local Democracy for Everyone – What’s on

My role at the polling station

We’ve been to find out what the role of the Presiding Officer at a polling station involves and how the elections staff are there to help you vote.

Why we voted

Have you voted yet? We’ve been out talking to Kirklees residents about why they voted in the elections.

We’re voting – are you?

These residents will be voting in the local elections – will you?

Tactile voting

I bumped into David on the bus home today. He told me that he’s given up on postal voting because for him it’s a bit of a faff, getting the form filled in and having it witnessed. He said that he would “see how he gets on at the polling station” this time instead.

David is registered blind, so a standard ballot paper is no good for him. I asked what’s provided at the polling station to make things easier for visually impaired voters.

He told me that there’s a template sheet that sits over the top of the ballot paper, with a series of holes corresponding to the spaces where voters can place their X.

The boxes are numbered on the sheet, which is tactile so that you can identify where to place your mark. A member of staff at the polling station will read out the options for you, so that you know which candidate corresponds to each number. Then you can be left to cast your vote in private, fold the paper over and take it to the ballot box.

Until this chance conversation, I’d never thought about how unsighted people cast their vote on polling day. I know that on the list of polling stations, there’s something to say how accessible each venue is – for example, whether there is a ramp for wheelchair users – but I’ve never really thought about the ballot paper itself.

It strikes me that it’s quite easy for most of us to vote, and yet a lot of people don’t bother. At the same time, there are a lot of people who might find the process of voting more difficult, but who always make the effort to use their vote.

David also asked me when I thought there might be electronic voting used for the elections in Kirklees. He pointed out that this would create some new options for people with disabilities.

As I made the short walk home from the bus stop, I found myself thinking about how elections have evolved over the years. I wonder how the process might change in the future.

Louisa Waple -Young candidate