A polling station, a door and a gust of wind

Last night I was pulling together various legal reference works into one folder ready for helping to give advice on polling day. Which reminded me of my favourite polling day election law query, featuring a polling station, a door and a gust of wind.

One of the polling stations being used for the local elections that year was in a portable cabin, temporarily installed on site for polling day. A sudden huge gust of wind had slammed the door shut. So tightly, in fact, that the polling station staff couldn’t open the door again. They were trapped inside, voters stuck outside.

What do you do when a polling station has become unusable? Start handing out ballot papers through the window and clumsily hold up the ballot box for receipt of them. And get the door kicked down.

(In my mind, I have an image of the polling station staff using a ballot box as a battering ram as they charged the door from the inside. That may be more imagination than accurate historical recall.)