Local Council Elections – Know Your Stuff

With a week to go until Orkney goes to the polls to vote for the new cohort of OIC Elected Members, the Council’s Elections Team has issued some key reminders

• Have you been affected by ward boundary changes? In May 2021, a review was carried out of ward boundaries in Orkney.  This resulted in some minor changes, with the two Kirkwall wards amended at Kirkwall Harbour to create a more easily identifiable ward boundary and the Kirkwall East boundary extended southwards to include Kirkwall Airport and former Wideford ward. If you’re unsure, check your polling card as this will confirm which ward you are in

• Not sure who is standing in your area?   The full list of candidates is available here  - https://www.orkney.gov.uk/LGE22.

• Got a postal vote? Over a third of Orkney’s electorate do. Your postal vote needs to be returned by 10.00pm on Thursday 5 May.  If you run out of time to post it back, you can hand your vote in to one of the polling stations across Orkney or bring it to the Council Offices in Kirkwall. If it’s after 5.00pm you can use the letterbox on the front door of Customer Services.

• Voting in person? Remember to check the location of your polling station, as it may have changed since the last time you voted.  Voters in Evie and Rendall for example, will now vote at the Rendall Community Centre instead of in the Evie Church.  Voters for Kirkwall East, Kirkwall West and Orphir, and North Isles voters who wish to vote in person should go to the Pickaquoy Centre.  

• There’s plenty time to vote – but don’t leave it too late. Polling stations will open at 7.00am on Thursday 5 May and close at 10.00pm. If you’re in the queue at 10.00pm you will still be allowed to vote. You don’t need to have your polling card with you to vote but I will speed up the process if you do.

• It’s all about the numbers.  Local council elections are decided through the Single Transferable Vote System (STV), instead of ‘first past the post’. This means that on your ballot paper you should number the candidates in order of preference, rather than putting a cross next to your preferred candidate.  You can choose as many or as few candidates as you like, as long as you mark them in order of preference – so a 1 for your preferred candidate, a 2 for your second preference, a 3 for your third preference and so on.

More information on the election – including a useful video explaining the STV process is available here - www.orkney.gov.uk/LGE22.