New to Waterford: Ballot-weighing scales
Double-checking the number of papers by weighing them. Photo: Joe Evans
“They’re new to Waterford but not new to the process,” said Waterford Returning Officer Michelle O'Connell of weighing scales which have been introduced to the counting process in Waterford’s counting centre in SETU.
“It’s obviously all about accuracy today, so this measure just gives us that extra certainty on the votes,” she said.
The weighing scales were used by a number of Returning Officers in the west of the country during the European elections, Ms O’Connell said she thought they were “a great idea to have them for verification”.
Ms O’Connell said that the weight of a single ballot differs per constituency and that the weights had been calculated ahead of the election and each weighing scale was calibrated to ensure accuracy. Other than that, they are little different to a normal kitchen weighing scales.
“We have a number [of ballots] which we weigh and check against that number.” The scales give the election staff the number of ballots as a function of the overall weight of a bundle of ballot papers.
The staff know the weight of a full, accurate bundle of ballots, and, if the output weight from the scales is beyond the margin, they know the ballot in question is erroneous.
