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

This is a very interesting and seemingly old fashioned process. It takes a lot of responsibility on the part of poll-workers to make this work.

I tried to post something under the article but it kept telling me I was being offensive! I know you guys don´t have A Right to Free Speech, but this is just ridiculous.

Hi Mol,

sorry about that. For some odd reason, we got an email last night, saying your article broke the house rules.

I emailed back, pointing out that it doesn't, but got no reply.

I asked the eds for help, so they've made it visible, but the 'removed' status apparently remained, which means that no comment can be posted there.

Anyway, it is a great article, so thank you for taking the time to write it for us.


Bel

How bizarre. I've had a post pulled in the past, because I explained how it was possible to commit vote fraud (the eds pointed out that while I might not be condoning the fraud, I was effectively giving advice on how to do it ) but I didn't think there was anything in that article that was flaky. Unless I misunderstood the Electoral Commission's advice on what to do at 10pm.

Glad the piece has been enjoyed, anyway Thanks for letting me know.

Mol

Is voting mandatory in the UK? Or is everyone such good citizens that they turn up. When there are sudden changes such as vote of confidence issues - how big of a turn around time do they have to get all that prepared? Also here we can do write in votes for some positions but voting is always on Tuesday in May and November.

Voting isn't mandatory and our turnout was about 64% (which is considered to be quite good - the turnout for local elections can be as low as 20%).

Whereabouts are you then?

Mol

D and I are in North Carolina, Durham the pollen capitol of the South. Unfortunately D has developed late hay fever whereas I have got rid of my childhood hay fever since we lived in Germany and Greece for 10 years.

I was just puzzled by your item being modded as though it was giving something in the Official Secrets Act!

We don't sign the Official Secrets Act. But there are statutory regulations about how we have to conduct ourselves (basically if we happen to see how anybody votes, we mustn't tell anybody else). Perhaps it just got modded for mentioning the election . Or there was that almost rude word I used in connection with ballot paper accounts ...

Mol