A lesson for the Electoral Commission of Jamaica

THE EDITOR, Madam:

The inordinate amount of time it took to vote at several polling divisions (PD) across the country marred the performance of what was otherwise an electoral system that delivered a result that reflects the will of those who voted. Last Wednesday, I arrived at the polling station at 7:10.a.m and there were four persons ahead of me in the line, with one already inside. It took 45 minutes for me to get inside the polling area to cast my vote.

From where I was in the line, I was able to see what was happening inside the voting area and it quickly became obvious that the elector inside did not have his voter identification card. It took the better part of eight minutes for him to vote. By the time he was done, another five electors had joined the line. Within minutes, there was much discontent with the slowness of the process, as the next elector to go in to vote also did not have his voter identification.

I was second in line when the supervisor for the polling division came by and I took the opportunity to speak to her about the problem as I saw it. After she had gone inside the polling station, and having spoken with the persons in charge of the voting process, she came outside and enquired of the people in the line as to who did not have their voter identification card. It turned out that, of the 10 or so people in the line behind me, four did not have their ID cards. The supervisor then left and returned with an electoral office staff member who got busy filling out the necessary paperwork for those who did not have their voter ID card.

After voting, I met my wife outside the polling station and told her where her PD was located. She did not have her voter ID, as there were errors on the card when she went to collect it, and so she had left it at the Electoral Office to be corrected. I told her to expect a long wait in line.

To my surprise, she was done in under 25 minutes. She told me the line moved quickly as her paperwork for voting without the voter ID was done before she entered the polling station. Seems to me there is a lesson here for the Electoral Commission of Jamaica.

ALWYN GREGORY

Manchester