Damning report on polls fiasco calls for urgent changes to law

The Electoral Commission's damning report, published yesterday, also calls for the law to be changed to make clear that people queuing at polling stations at 10pm should still be able to vote.

At least 1,200 people were left outside in 16 parliamentary constituencies when the polls officially closed, on General Election night.

In Nick Clegg's Sheffield Hallam constituency there were reports of students trying to prevent ballot boxes being taken to the count when they were turned away after queueing while in Hull polling stations ran out of ballot papers.

The Deputy Prime Minister promised swift action. "We must never see a repeat of this fiasco," the Liberal Democrat leader said. "I know, from my own constituency, the profound disappointment felt by people who had waited in line to exercise their democratic right to vote.

"We can't transform politics to give power back to people unless we get the basics right."

Chaotic scenes were also reported in London, Manchester, Liverpool and Newcastle on General Election night as polling stations struggled to cope with the number of people turning out to vote.

The Electoral Commission report highlights a series of weaknesses including poor planning, unsuitable buildings and inadequate staffing arrangements at some polling stations. It also criticises "restrictive legislation" which meant those present in queues in some areas at the close of poll were not able to be issued with a ballot paper and could not vote.

The watchdog also pointed out the law had been actually been broken by some officers who agreed to issue more ballot papers to would-be voters after 10pm.

James Welch, legal director of campaign group Liberty, said: "This clear and prompt report highlights the disgraceful planning and resourcing for the General Election in a number of constituencies.

"We welcome the suggestion that the law should be clarified to make clear that people queuing at 10pm can still vote, but consider that this could have been achieved by applying human rights principles and common sense."

Peter Facey, director of campaign group Unlock Democracy, said: "Failure of this kind would be unacceptable in a developing country, let alone one of the oldest democracies in the world.

"These debacles could have been a lot worse and should serve as a wake-up call to electoral administrators everywhere."

The Electoral Reform Society welcomed the proposed law change but said the Commission needed more "teeth" to punish "incompetent" administrators.

Chief executive Ken Ritchie said: "It's outrageous that, when we are having such difficulty persuading people of the importance of voting, some were unable to vote because of the failings of election administrators.

"The Electoral Commission has done well in producing a report on what went wrong within two weeks of the election. "Politicians now need to demonstrate the same urgency in resolving the problems."

"A change in the law to allow people to vote provided they have joined the queue before the close of poll is sensible - it is the practice in many other countries. This should not be controversial and should be enacted as soon as possible. Getting returning officers to improve their act is more difficult. The Commission can set standards and assess performance, but it needs to be able to hold electoral administrators to account."