Car turned into makeshift polling booth in Cambridge election emergency

People turning up at the Milton Road Library polling station in Cambridge this morning (Thursday, May 2) had to cast their votes in the back of a car after there was trouble getting into the building.

Quick thinking electoral services staff moved to plan B so that people could still vote in the Cambridge City Council and Police and Crime Commissioner elections when they discovered the library’s door entry codes did not work.

Two of the volunteers’ cars were hastily turned into makeshift polling booths until 8am when someone arrived to open the building.

A Cambridge City Council spokesperson said: “Our elections staff are doing a fantastic job today coordinating the local elections at 39 different locations across the city, and have a variety of back-up plans in case of any incidents, to ensure Cambridge residents can cast their votes. At one of our polling stations this morning, Milton Road Library, there was a problem with door codes and contacting keyholders, so our staff showed great initiative and used their own cars as temporary polling stations for the first voters arriving after 7am. As of 8am the polling station at Milton Road Library was open and fully operational – and staff are looking forward to welcoming voters there for the city council and PCC elections until 10pm tonight.

“A polling station does not have to be in a building to be legal (caravans and tents have been used elsewhere in the past) or even in the building that has been have advertised, as long as people arriving know where to go to vote. The polling district serves as the legal area for polling to take place. As long as people can cast their vote in secret and the ballot box is kept secure, polling can effectively take place anywhere.”

The spokesperson confirmed that some people did turn up to vote between 7am and 8am and had to use the car as a polling booth and that that using a car is an “established alternative” in similar situations.