Lesson plan
Polling agent
In elections in the United Kingdom, Singapore and Malaysia, a polling agent is someone appointed by either the election agent of a candidate standing for election, or where there is no election agent the candidate personally, to oversee conduct of the poll at polling stations, from the installation of empty ballot boxes, through the day as voters cast their ballots, until the ballot boxes are sealed and collected for delivery to the count centre. The primary purpose of a polling agent is to assist in detection of personation. The appointment of a polling agent is not legally required. Polling agents are appointed after the period when nominations to the election are made. The election timetable states when counting agents have to be appointed, usually about a week before the polling day. Only one polling agent per candidate may be admitted at any one time to a polling station, and they may not take information out of the polling station. After the May 2005 Northern Ireland elections, the Electoral Commission concluded that some polling agents unlawfully acted as tellers, identifying those who had not yet voted, and passing information from inside the polling place to other party workers. This information is not normally available to parties unless voters give it voluntarily to tellers, outside the polling place.
Article summary
In elections in the United Kingdom, Singapore and Malaysia, a polling agent is someone appointed by either the election agent of a candidate standing for election, or where there is no election agent the candidate personally, to oversee conduct of the poll at polling stations, from the installation of empty ballot boxes, through the day as voters cast their ballots, until the ballot boxes are sealed and collected for delivery to the count centre. The primary purpose of a polling agent is to assist in detection of personation. The appointment of a polling agent is not legally required. Polling agents are appointed after the period when nominations to the election are made. The election timetable states when counting agents have to be appointed, usually about a week before the polling day. Only one polling agent per candidate may be admitted at any one time to a polling station, and they may not take information out of the polling station. After the May 2005 Northern Ireland elections, the Electoral Commission concluded that some polling agents unlawfully acted as tellers, identifying those who had not yet voted, and passing information from inside the polling place to other party workers. This information is not normally available to parties unless voters give it voluntarily to tellers, outside the polling place.
Key claims
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Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
Bibliography
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Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.