Polling stations defaced

| 18/07/2012

(CNS): As Referendum Day reaches its half way point, a number of polling stations have been defaced, election officials have reported. Vandals have scribbled on posters in an effort to unlawfully influence the ballot, Deputy Supervisor of Elections Orrett Connor said after some 6,346 voters turned out at the polls. About 42% of the electorate has voted so far, but well over a thousand more voters need to go to the polls to give the referendum any chance of carrying. The district of North Side is where the greatest percentage of voters have gone to the polls and Cayman Brac and Little Cayman still have the lowest turnout.

Connor said the defacing of guide posters was unheard of in elections in the Cayman Islands as he reminded the voting public that it is an offence under the elections law because the graffiti constituted an infraction. He said that vandals had written  "Vote No" or "Vote Yes" on information posters at the polling stations in an effort to influence the outcome. Apart from the graffiti, Connor said, the referendum was going smoothly and he encouraged more voters to come out to the polls and exercise their democratic right.

Across the districts voter turnout is varying greatly, with a 55% in North Side compared to 34% in the Sister Islands. In West Bay over 40% of voters have been to the polls, while in George Town and Bodden Town 42% of the registered voters have already voted. Meanwhile, in East End just over 39% of electors have cast their vote.

Governor Duncan Taylor paid a call to the George Town election command centre at lunchtime toget feedback on how the referendum process was progressing and he had words of encouragement for voters.

“It's not mandatory to vote in the Cayman Islands but it is a great freedom to vote … The higher the turnout the more legitimacy to the result,” he said as he urged people to take part in the process.

The polls remain open until 6pm and the count will start at 7pm with results expected before 1am on Thursday morning.

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  1. sickntired says:

    You got to be kidding me 1AM to count less than 9000 votes!!  This is one thing that has to change, they entire election process ppl have been doing this electronically for years why can twe get up to speed with this stuff!!

  2. Thunder Storm says:

    and I thoughtthe majority of dem Brackas was smart!

  3. Anonymous says:

    Long live Britannia!!!  Dart and McKeeva- the United Kingdom is on their way! Run like roaches.

  4. Dicktator Must Go says:

    If Governor Taylor had been exerting his executive power, it would not have been necessary to take this step.  What is he and the UK fraud squads waiting for? For McKeeva to initiate martial law here.  That might be a better solution than having him starve us because our measly pensions cannot feed our families.  He travels where and when he wants on our dime.  He initiated large district meetings on our dime and has also been promoting the old system of elections on our dime.  When I turned on my TV and say Foolio Solomon sittng on the platform in a meeting against the OMOV, which was paid for with our money, while the people of the Cayman Islands who are not billionnaires are literally starving, I quickly turned it off again in disgust.  I can only eat Foster's "pick any 5 for $19.99, while McCastro and his henchmen can eat steak and lobster when they want to.  Something is not fair in our island and nobody seems to want to do anything about forcing this criminal to get our of our government.

  5. Anonymous says:

    This is Cayman. Many more voters would have turn out if it weren't a holiday and one had to leave work to vote. Why interrupt a day at the beach?

    • Poppy says:

      Maybe instead of closing the bars, the voting booths could be moved into bars.  That might boost voter turnout.