The frenzy to report results overnight after UK general election is unsightly. The rush to be first to declare is especially ridiculous – do we not deserve some care to be taken over the counting of our votes rather than people dashing around with boxes? In the rush to return results some of the potential theatre is lost. Those thinking about reinvigorating the UK system without making dramatic legislative changes should relax, the country won’t collapse if it needs to wait an additional 12 hours for a result, especially after a long campaign, but it may engage a wider audience with the electoral process.
A big difference was noticeable when the Irish referenda were counted over the weekend. By counting the results during the daytime, there was an increased sense of openness about the counting process. Just as justice should be seen to be done, so should the democratic process. Counting the results during the daytime means that the results were announced when the nation was awake and waiting for the results rather than having being finalised overnight, when only political anoraks are awake. The electorate did not wake up to the results; rather they observed first the initial estimates from the initial tallying of votes, then the actual results coming in.
The reporting of these tallies is an important part of the theatre surrounding Irish electoral system. It helps to build the tension throughout the day. Furthermore, they enable a comprehensive understanding of the geographic distribution of the notes not available within the rushed UK system.
Tallying, in Ireland, is done by volunteers of various political persuasions who observe the unfolding of votes from the other side of the fence. Each box is identified and the votes are recorded. The parties co-operate to ensure as wide a coverage of the different boxes as possible.
The process of tallying votes means that we get to hear about the surprises such as the box in Finglas West that was reported to be 100% Yes for the Marriage Referendum. From a political point of view, having this insight into voting at a very local level, there is confidence in the statement that the votes were not split along an urban / rural divide. The results were more complex; cities and large towns voting yes, with strong yes votes also in some very small villages, but no votes in small towns.
Democracy is a form of theatre, let it be lit by the light of day!
To be decided 