New measures put in place A local protocol to ensure a free and fair election has been developed by the Metropolitan Police and Tower Hamlets Council. Electoral fraud will be investigated robustly and fully. call the election team for help on 7364 0872 Keeping a check Thousands of homes have been visited to ensure that the electoral register is accurate. Check your polling station... www.towerhamlets.gov.uk/elections News The candidates who will be standing in Bethnal Green and Bow Constituency M Rowshan ALI (Communities United Party) Rushanara ALI (Labour) Elliot BALL (The 30-50 Coalition) Jonathan DEWEY (Cannabis is Safer than Alcohol) Alasdair Iain HENDERSON (Whig Party) Teena LASHMORE (Liberal Democrat) Paula MCQUEEN (UKIP) Jason Andrew PAVLOU (Red Flag – Anti-Corruption) Alistair POLSON (Green Party) Glyn ROBBINS (Left Unity-Trade Unionists and Socialists) Matt SMITH (Conservative) The candidates who will be standing in Poplar and Limehouse Constituency Elaine BAGSHAW (Liberal Democrat) Maureen CHILDS(Green Party) Jim FITZPATRICK (Labour) Rene Claudel MUGENZI (Red Flag – Anti-Corruption) Nicholas MCQUEEN (UKIP) Hugo PIERRE (Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition) Chris WILFORD (Conservative) Appeal to young voters YOUNG voters are being urged to take part in the elections In Tower Hamlets, almost half of the population is concentrated in the 25-34 age range, representing a large section of the electoral base. The council is urging young people to make their voices count in the Parliamentary elections because nationally, people aged 18-24 are less likely to vote than any other age group. Every two years a Young Mayor and a team of deputies are elected by young people aged 14-18 who live, work or study in the borough. Check your poll card to see where you cast your vote BY SUSAN MULLIGAN TOWER Hamlets electors who have registered to vote should by now have received their poll cards. An address and map of the polling station where they can cast their vote is detailed on the poll cards. Residents who have not received a poll card, or have lost it, can still vote if they are registered – just go to the allocated polling station and give staff your name and address. Polling stations around the borough will open from 7am to 10pm on Thursday, May 7. Find your allocated polling station at: www.towerhamlets. gov.uk/elections It’s your vote, so don’t give it away EACH elector has one vote. It is important to prevent others from taking your vote or pressurising you to vote in a particular way. If you vote at the polling station, take the ballot paper from the clerk and go into a polling booth to cast your vote in secret. Do not let anyone else touch your ballot paper and no other adult may go into the polling booth with you. If you are a postal voter, make sure you complete the postal voting pack and ballot paper yourself, place the documents in the envelope provided and put it in the post. You must not give the ballot paper or postal voting pack to anyone else to complete on your behalf. Anyone who takes another person’s ballot paper may be committing an offence. If you have any questions in the polling station, ask the staff for help. Postal and proxy voting IF an elector is unable to vote at their allocated polling station on Thursday, May 7, they can request an application form for a postal vote. ■ The deadline for the council’s election team to receive a postal vote application form is 5pm on Tuesday, April 21. Proxy voting enables an elector to appoint a person to vote on their behalf if the elector is unable to go to the polling station on the day. The proxy can vote on an elector’s behalf in two ways: by going to the allocated polling station or by voting by post (known as postal proxy). ■ Applications to vote by proxy must reach the elections team by 5pm on Tuesday, April 28. ■ Applications to vote by postal proxy must reach the election team by 5pm on Tuesday, April 21. If, by 5pm on the day of the election, an elector becomes physically incapacitated or is unable to go to their allocated polling station due to their occupation, service or employment, they should contact the elections team as soon as possible for assistance. Council plans to prevent fraud THE General Election in May will have the strongest processes in London to prevent fraud, some of the most robust in the country. A local protocol to ensure a free and fair election and help to establish trust in the electoral system has been drawn up by the main agencies involved in running the election. The protocol makes it clear the Metropolitan Police and the council take electoral fraud extremely seriously and will investigate all allegations of irregularities robustly, promptly and fully. If you are concerned that your vote may be subject to fraud, contact the police on 101 with the details. Call 999 in an emergency. Follow the council on Twitter for election updates @Towerhamletsnow 20 – 26 APRIL 2015 N E W S F R O M TOWER HAMLETS COUNCIL AND YOUR COMMUNITY 7
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