'Angry and chaotic' scenes in London borough as queues grow and glitch hits voting systems
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Version 0 of 1. There have been “angry and chaotic” scenes in a London borough where more than 50 residents were warned they could be unable to vote in the general election due to a technical glitch with IT systems. Many Hackney residents took to Twitter to complain about an apparent lack of organisation, meaning queues were growing and voters were becoming increasingly frustrated. Twitter user Clare Qualman described “chaos” at Hackney Town Hall, where many were seeking advice this morning, writing: “Waiting with the disenfranchised at Hackney Town Hall - it's getting angry and chaotic.” The Labour candidate for Hackney North and Stoke Newington, Diane Abbott, blasted the reported disorganisation as “ridiculous” on Twitter. “This is so shocking. They have had five years to prepare for this election,” she said. The queues came as the Evening Standard reported that a glitch with the council’s IT systems meant around 100 residents may not be able to vote despite registering in time. Can't vote by proxy in @HackneyAbbott 's constituency today. Town Hall a mess, disgruntled voters, 'clerical errors'... #GE2015 #hackney What sort of amateur hour clowning has gone on in #hackney with all these 'registration admin errors' @HackneyAbbott ? Serious "administrative errors" mean people are having to queue in Hackney Town Hall to see if they'll actually be able to vote at all. @BBCLondonNews it's chaos at Hackney town Hall, tonnes of people without ballot papers, one staff member assisted by a 12 year old girl! Thirty plus people waiting at #Hackney town hall trying to sort out their vote, apparently. Shambles. #GE2015 Pretty bad hearing the sham that seems to be voting in Hackney...couldn't have been sorted before Election Day or... A spokesperson for Hackney Council told The Independent the issue was to do with applications received by the Government from residents that were sent to the council to verify but did not come through. It said it is dealing with these applications on a case-by-case basis, adding that about 50 people had been affected. The council said: “Due to issues caused by the new Individual Electoral Registration system we did not receive some applications until late into the process, as details were cross checked by the Department for Work and Pensions, via the government’s new online registration service." Separately, it added: “There was a brief busy period when the Town Hall first opened this morning, this included some people with general enquiries; those who had incorrectly gone to Town Hall to vote instead of their allocated polling station; those who had come to collect postal votes which have had to have been reissued; and those who use the Town Hall as their fixed address. "However, we put on more staff and have dealt with most of these residents.” |