Voters given wrong instructions at polling station after poster blunder

A blunder at a Glasgow polling station left voters being given the wrong instructions as they arrived to cast their votes.

Posters at Notre Dame Primary School told voters to rank candidates in order of preference.

This is how ballots are cast during local elections in Scotland, using the single transferable vote system. UK general elections use the first-past-the-post system and that requires voters to put a single “X” next to the candidate they are voting for.

Glasgow City Council said the error was spotted quickly and the posters were replaced "very soon" after the polling station opened at 7am.

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The council also said that votes will still count and that it will use voters’ first preference, meaning nobody would be disenfranchised.

However, a voter informed The Herald that the error wasn't noticed until at least 11am - three hours after the polling station opened.

It’s the latest issue to hit voting after postal vote delays meant many Scots were unable to get their ballots in.

A council spokeswoman said: “The error was spotted very soon after the polling station opened and after the first few voters.

“It was replaced with the correct information.

“No-one has been disenfranchised as the first preference will be taken from the ballot paper.”