Peers call for urgent poll law changes

THE law should be changed before the next general election to ensure voters queuing at the ballot box cannot be turned away at the close of polls, a cross-party committee of peers has urged.

Yesterday, the House of Lords constitution committee called for legislation guaranteeing that voters who are at a polling station before 10pm are entitled to cast their ballot.

Its recommendation follows the polling night chaos during the 2010 election, when more than 1,000 people were unable to vote because of long queues at their polling stations.

The committee said a review of electoral law by the Law Commission – due to report in 2017 – would come too late for the planned May 2015 election.

Committee chairman Baroness Jay said: “The government must now amend the law to ensure voters in a polling station, or in the queue at a polling station, at 10pm on polling day are allowed to vote.

“This cannot wait for a Law Commission review that doesn’t report until 2017. The government should make these changes before the next election.”

There were furious scenes on the night of the 2010 election. Up to 1,200 people were still queuing in 16 constituencies when polls closed at 10pm.