£350,000 of ballot papers to be shredded after mistake in Wales
The BBC reports:
Preparations for next month’s police and crime elections in Wales have been called a “shambles” after it emerged an estimated £350,000 worth of ballots papers are likely to be shredded.
Peers approved plans to print bilingual ballots in both Welsh and English on Monday, 48 hours before a deadline for sending out postal ballots in Wales.
Ballots written only in English will now have to be thrown away…
Lib Dem peer Lord Roberts said it was “a shambolic way” to undertake any sort of election. “The ballot papers are supposed to be going out within the next 48 hours,” he said. “It is beyond my comprehension.”
"But ministers said it was not unprecedented for similar legislative orders to be approved shortly before elections and the same had happened in the run-up to the 2010 general election."
Doesn't mean it's right or sensible though! We had last minute legislation in 2004 as well – in that case significant guidance (if not actual regulations) we still being written after the publication of the notice of election.
Often it's better to do what you think is right and seek forgiveness afterwards. How bad / costly would it have been to just print them in both languages anyway? Are English-only pamphlets really of no use at all? Are there many Welsh-only speakers? I do think this is ridiculous all round. £350,000 would have bought a lot of school books and equipment.
There has been a persistent pattern in recent years of changing/finally agreeing details of election rules at a very late date (ie after the election period has actually started).
There aren't vast numbers of Welsh only readers but there are some – and there are undoubtely more who read Welsh much better than English. So generally speaking government publicity material in Wales is produced in a bi-lingual format. I can't t see why this hasn't been dealt with much much earlier.