Hens, lost engagement rings and other odd polling station stories
Unusual Tales From Election Day
Picture credits, Sara Chane
Matilda, the hen, created a commotion by accidentally entering a polling place in Skelmersdale.
On the day of the election, many people will be going to vote.
Approximately 150,000 election workers will operate 40,000 polling stations throughout the United Kingdom.
Election officials woke up very early in the morning, aware that they wouldn't be able to sleep until late on Friday once the vote counting is completed.
Running elections may be a hefty task and a significant responsibility, but here are some amusing anecdotes from the more humorous aspect of the process.
Photos of dogs at voting locations has now become a customary feature of election day.
We have become accustomed to seeing dogs at voting locations.
Two council employees, Sara Chane and Lindsey Carroll, were at the voting place in Skelmersdale, Lancashire in May 2021 for the town elections when a chicken unexpectedly entered the building.
Without a person to help them and no proper identification for the chicken, Sara and Lindsey started to search for the owner of the chicken. They even got assistance from a nearby flower shop while still managing the polling station.
"Please ignore the chicken and come inside," Lindsey told the voters.
Sara mentioned that the woman was very pretty and very nice.
Finally, a family of farmers volunteered to remove the chicken while its original owner was located.
After a few moments, a young child of five years old appeared, searching for his beloved pet named Matilda.
What Did We Do?
Lindsey explained that she embarked on a desperate search to bring the boy back to Matilda, worried that someone may have mistakenly given him to farmers who raise chickens.
"We were really worried," Lindsey explained. "Did we hand over this chicken to someone who will harm her?"
In the end, Matilda was found and returned to her original owners, but not without some additional stress for the bird.
Matilda had been put in a pen with several other chickens who had turned against her and physically pecked her.
The happy owners brought their pet chicken back home and gave her a bath, while Lindsey and Sara continued with their responsibilities in a fair and equal manner.
Later on, Matilda's family went back to the polling station to show their appreciation to the staff who had helped them find their runaway pet bird. They brought chocolates and a tray of eggs as a token of gratitude.
Chickens are not the only surprising guests that show up at the polling station.
Peter Stanyon, the head of the Association of Electoral Administrators, shared a story from the south-west of England about a voter who was determined to find something.
Upon spotting the polling station, they quickly realized the importance of democracy and immediately rode their horse straight inside.
Sometimes, polling stations can become quiet.
Even so, employees manage to occupy themselves during downtime.
Peter recalls a worker in Merseyside who faced a problem when, during a quiet moment, he offered to step in as Santa Claus at a children's Christmas party being held in the room above the polling station.
He believed he had successfully avoided detection, but was surprised when the next person to sit on his lap turned out to be a council inspector who had visited the polling station to monitor the progress.
In Wakefield, a woman unintentionally dropped her expensive engagement ring worth £40,000 into the ballot box when she was putting in her voting paper.
Once a ballot box is closed, it cannot be opened again until it is time to count the votes.
This meant that the groom's future wife had to arrive at the courthouse hours after the wedding ceremony and patiently wait for the container to be unsealed.
Peter said the ring had a high value, but he emphasized that democracy was even more important.
The regulation that a ballot box cannot be opened again has negative outcomes for both election officials and engaged couples.
Up until around 15 years ago, voting containers were sealed with sealing wax. Sometimes the wax would get hot enough to start burning.
The workers at the voting station were unable to open the box to extinguish the potential fire, so they had to come up with a way to introduce liquid into the box to put out the flames without harming the ballots.
'We Are The Magical Elves'
Frequently, the voting papers are not destroyed by fire, but by the voters themselves.
Tom Lynan has been managing electoral services in West Lancashire for nine years.
He mentioned that offensive language and crude drawings on ballots happen frequently.
In the past, Tom mentioned that voters would often choose Batman or Commissioner Gordon as their backup options during elections for police and crime commissioners.
He added that his sister-in-law once jokingly threatened to spoil Game of Thrones episodes by writing them on her ballot, knowing he would probably see it.
Even with that specific difficulty, Tom finds joy in his work. He believes it is an honor to help make democracy accessible to the residents of the borough.
He states that throughout history, individuals have demonstrated and struggled for the privilege of voting. We are now responsible for overseeing the system that serves as the basis for this nation and its beliefs.
The day before election day feels like the excitement of Christmas Eve. We are the helpers, getting everything ready for the big day. Instead of giving out presents, we are preparing for the upcoming election.
