Electors warned not to cast too many votes

| 16/04/2013

(grin887l.jpgCNS): The Elections Office is warning voters that ballots will be rejected if they vote for more candidates than their constituency allows. Electors in multi-member constituencies don’thave to use all their votes but they must be careful not to use too many. Officials said voters in George Town now have six votes while those in Bodden Town now have four, but they warned electors to ensure that they do not mark any more than that on their ballot sheets. In West Bay voters have the same four votes and Cayman Brac & Little Cayman voters still have two.

Electors can only vote for the number of candidates prescribed in section 5 of the Elections Law and they should be aware that to vote for more candidates than are specified for their districts will result in their ballots being rejected at the count, the office said. If electors choose to give all their votes to one candidate it will still only be counted as one vote.

Officials also reminded voters that ballot papers can be marked with a ballpoint pen or the pencil provided in the poll booth.  However, the use of fountain pens is discouraged because the mark on the ballot made by the elector could show through the ballot paper.  Electors should be aware that in marking the ballot an X must be made next to the names of the one, two, four or six candidates they are voting for, depending on the district. 

However, electors are perfectly entitled to spoil their ballot if they so choose. It is considered a legitimate means of democratic protest and a significant number of spoilt ballot papers sends a signal to the powers that be that voters want to engage in the political process but are not pleased with what is being presented to them. All spoilt ballots must be counted as they have to be accounted for in order to avoid election fraud. Although the local Elections Office normally records a small number of spoilt ballot papers, it has not been used historically in Cayman as a means of protest.

Meanwhile, new electors who have only just registered and those who have not previously applied for an elector’s registration card cannot collect new voter cards this week from the main office as staff are on the road. Voters who have had a card in the past may still obtain replacement cards during this period. Officials explained that the arrangement is temporary while election technicians are out in the districts this week.

New voter cards will again be issued from Tuesday 23 April but officials are asking voters to be patient as the office has only one new printer and a few almost obsolete units. The Elections Office also offered its appreciation to all voters who are arranging to pick up voter ID cards as it said they will help to expedite the voting process on Election Day and the office would do all it could to issue cards to everyone who wants them before the General Election on Wednesday 22 May.

See schedule for voter ID card pick up below.

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Category: Politics

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  1. McKeevaite says:

    Vote early and vote often!

  2. Anonymous says:

    Vote early.  Vote often.  Especially if you have to cast the votes of family members and a few dead friends still on the roll.

  3. beachboi says:

    It is my opinion that the majority of the voters have no idea what it is that they are "marking" on the ballot forms.  I also believe that those that "sell" their votes have no idea what it is that hey are giving up based on the few legitimate voters that we have to begin with.  They are simply not intelligent enough to understand who it is that they are voting for hence they may or may not be aware of the power that they are granting to most of the politicians that turn out to be theives and have nothing in mind other than their own greed for what they can gain for thier own pockets rather than what they can accomplish for their contry.  The political system today is based entirely on greed and the simple are bribed to believe that if they cast their votes a certain way for a gift or for cash that they have no idea what power they are putting into the pockets of most of the politicians who ard greedy, self-serving crooks whom have not their country at heart but the amount of cash that can fit into their pockets.  The ideal of these voters centers on who shows up at church and whose lies they believe the most which means that we will soon not have any truly honest and trustworthy candidates to vote for.  What a shame!!!!

  4. Anonymous says:

    This is what I'm talking about. If they had just implement OMOV….

    • Anonymous1 says:

      With OMOV, a vote for McKeeva or many others would still be one vote too many.