Alyn & Deeside by-election – polls open at 7am on Tuesday – get out and vote!

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Flintshire residents in the National Assembly for Wales constituency of Alyn and Deeside will take to the polls from 7am tomorrow Tuesday, February 6th.

64,000 residents are eligible to vote in Tuesday’s election which as we all know was brought on by the tragic death of Labour Assembly Member Carl Sargeant, he was 49.

Mr Sargeant had been the Alyn and Deeside AM since 2003 and was Cabinet Secretary for Communities and Children when he was dismissed from the Government last November, that followed unspecified allegations about his personal conduct.

Though not a ‘rule’ elections tend to be held on Thursdays so this being on Tuesday makes it slightly unusual, Welsh Assembly rules say all vacancies need to be filled within three months.

The Presiding Officer of the Welsh Assembly justified the choice of date as being due to the “sensitivities of the circumstances which led to the vacancy arising” as well as the impact of the Christmas break on arrangements.

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It’s been 641 days since the last Assembly Election in Alyn and Deeside on May 5, 2016, just 34.6% of those residents eligible to vote bothered to turn out at the polls giving us the dubious honour of having the lowest turnout of all the Assembly constituencies in the 2016 election.

In fact, in three of the five previous Welsh Assembly elections, Alyn and Deeside has returned the lowest turnout.

Hopes of a higher turnout on Tuesday on the back of some spirited campaigning by all candidates could be dashed given we have a yellow weather alert for snow in place, a decent sprinkling of the white stuff could indeed see one of the lowest ever turnouts for an Alyn and Deeside election.

Here’s a rundown of what you need to know before polling day:

Make sure you vote in time

• Polling stations will be open from 7am to 10pm on Tuesday 6 February.

Proxy voting

• If you are suddenly unable to vote in person because you have a medical emergency which prevents you from attending on polling day, or your occupation, service or employment means that you cannot go to the polling station in person, you may be entitled to appoint an emergency proxy. You should contact Flintshire County Council to ask about this.

What you need to take with you

• Just yourself! Your poll card will have been sent to the address where you are registered but you do not need to take it with you to vote.
• Just tell the polling station staff your name and address and they can check whether you’re on the electoral register.

Social media

• Social media is a great way to let your friends and family know you have voted and to encourage them to do the same. So use Twitter and Facebook to get the message out there.
• Remember! Pictures of you outside the polling station are great to use on social media posts but don’t take a picture of yourself inside the polling station as if you post this it could be a breach of the law.

There is more information on www.yourvotematters.co.uk or you can call the Electoral Services team on 01352 702412.

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Five candidates are standing in the election they are;

Conservative – Sarah Atherton; Plaid Cymru – Carrie Harper; Liberal Democrat – Donna Lalek; Green – Duncan Rees; Labour – Jack Sargeant

You can read the candidate profiles here: Deeside.com/Alyn-Deeside-election-candidates/

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