Issue 24 // Friday May 21 2010

The independent student newspaper of the University of Sheffield // www.forgetoday.com

Chew Lips interview

Fuse page 5

Ranmoor farce forces Council apology

4Two queue fiasco prevented students from casting their vote
Nicole Froio Sheffield City Council has apologised for the two queue system imposed at Ranmoor Parish Centre at the election on May 6, promising that such discrimination will never happen again. Only four election officers were present to supervise hundreds of voters. The Council had already published an apology on their website to all the voters who were unable to cast their votes due to the chaos at the polling stations. However the two queue system and alleged student discrimination were not mentioned. Union President Paul Tobin met with Sheffield City Council Chief Executive John Mothersole on Friday May 14 to discuss what happened. Paul Tobin said, Voting is supposed to be a very quick affair and so the fact that students arrived two-and-a-half hours before the deadline and were still unable to vote is an outrage. So I went in looking for a full apology in terms of the queue system and a promise that it will never happen again. They took full responsibility and said that it was the councils fault, not the voters or anybody elses. He added: I pressed them on an apology for the two queues explicitly. John Mothersole said: We have of course reiterated our apology and explained that there was no intention to discriminate against students and I believe that was accepted. He declined his returning officer pay of 20,000 as an apology to voters who were turned away from the polling station. He said: I have never wanted to be one of those civil servants who failed to acknowledge mistakes and pretended lessons could never be learned. We recognise that we had problems at five of our 207 polling stations where we had phenomenal turnout and that was not acceptable. The only remedy, which we could not take, was to extend the voting times. It is reported that Mr Mothersole has not accepted his returning officer wages in previous elections. Paul Tobin said: Its a positive sign to say that hes doing it as a statement but this is obviously something hes done before.

Union President Paul Tobin outside Sheffield Town Hall. Students present at the polling station on election night said they thought voting was not handled well. Welfare Officer Jennifer Hastings said: Everyone has the right to vote, and such an impressive student turnout should not have been overshadowed by such inexcusable treatment. The whole process needs to be reviewed to avoid the same happening again. First year Politics student Simon Meechan said that the Councils apology was only partially acceptable: I am glad they apologized, however I would also like an apology for the use of students as scapegoats. I was told by someone in the polling station who I believe was an authority there that students dont normally vote. I would like to know why they hold this attitude, and if it had anything to do with the lack of polling booths then I find it appalling. First year History student Thomas Wood said he was revolted at the handling of events. The scene was a shambles, with a huge turnout and little organisation. This is a profound failure on the part of the authorities and it deserves proper investigation. Students who voted at the polling station were treated as second-class citizens, in breach of their democratic rights.

Photo: Helen Munro The Students Union will be fully involved in the planning of any future elections in Sheffield to avoid any similar situations in the future. The possibility of opening polling stations at student halls of residence was considered with City Council. Finance Officer Martin Bailey said, Despite requests from the Union to have a polling station at the Endcliffe Village, where 4000 students live, those were denied because students dont vote but here we are with this situation. Paul Tobin said: I think polling stations in halls of residence should be for both students and non-students. Continued on page 5

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