h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I'm feeling like certain people in Florida must have felt a few short month ago. Here's the reason why.

Well I tried to register in my new location (Livingston seat of Robin Cook) as of tomorrow by faxing through a rolling registration form. This is a new idea to allow the electoral roll here in teh UK to updated more regularly and easily (or so I would have thought).

However if the election takes place on June 7 I CANNOT vote in Livingston. I repeat I CANNOT vote in Livingston.

WHY???? I hear you cry. Because I was too honest. Yes! Get this. I sent a cover sheet with my form. Which said please find attached a rolling registration form as I am moving this weekend.

Now the deadline for registration was Thursday 5 April, for June 7, but faxes are acceptable, goverment moving with the times, the reason for faxes and not e-mail is the need to sign the form and electronic signitures ahve still to be recognised shame really . So this I duly did and as someone who has voted in every single Council, General and European election in the ward or constituency where I have lived since turning 18 I felt I should have some say in who should be mine and my wifes Member of Parliament for the term of the next Parliament. So I faxed it off well in advance of the 5PM deadline.

Today I received a phone call (having used my personalised CIVIL SERVICE fax header) saying that as I was not in residence on the 5 April I was not going to be added to the register until June 1 which is too late for the 7 June. I was also told if I had just sent the form I would have been added no questions asked. So I am losing my right to vote where I want to vote because of some common decency and honesty.

I do not think this is a very diplomatic system.

I am like one of those poor Floridians who has not got a vote to elect Gore. Instead I have a postal vote in the most maverick constituency in Parliament. I have the chose of two Anti-Agreement candidates as the main two contenders the sitting MP with a large personal vote, so therefore my Pro-Agreement vote will come to nothing if I even bother to post it.

The irony of all this is that a civil servant sent a fax on civil service headed paper to another civil servant to get registered. Being into open goverment as the current government claims to be I was honest. However if I had just sent in the form I would now be on the register. Does this seem fair? I have e-mailed the leader of the party that I joined as a student and at every opportunity I have had I have voted for, sadly it looks like this time I will not be able to, and stressed my case with him.

This seems somewhat ironic considering all my efforts in the build up to the last election, which saw some fruit as the seat I had canvassed in for a number of year went to my party of choice. Now this time I have no say. Well nothing that can be productive.

One very upset disenfrancised DD

No that looks too cheerful.

I hope you still have your name on the electoral register at your old address - it might not be in the constituency in which you'll be living, but at least it's still a vote. Shame about the deadline hell though - at least you've got the next one in 5 years?

I do but I can't help to think that my vote there is as always going to remain a waste of time, effort and graphite. Ah well Tony has yet to call the election and with F&M still being quite a big issue he may yet delay beyond the 7 June, there are farms not very far from here which are operating under restrictions so we shall have to see what Alistair Campbell or is it Rory Bremner tells him to do...

Tell you what DD, seeing as I'm going to be moving about a month after the election, maybe you can have the unused portion of my vote.

So I voted in Falkirk did I? Still dinenfrnachised.