WOULD-BE voters are being turned away from polling stations and told to “vote in their own member state” as the UK takes part in the European Parliament election.
More and more accounts, mostly via Twitter, are emerging of EU citizens who are resident in the UK being refused the right to vote.
Some are blaming administrative errors by local authorities.
The Guardian said that dozens of people have contacted them to share their story.
A common account is of EU citizens turning up to polling stations to find their name scored out before being turned away.
Many people up and down the country appear to have filled out and returned the forms with enough time to spare yet still run into problems.
Others say they were never told to fill out the forms in the first place.
Some in Scotland have contacted The National directly and we are working on bringing you their stories.
The UK was due to leave the EU on March 29 and is only participating in the elections because Theresa May and her government have failed to get their Withdrawal Agreement Bill through Parliament.
READ MORE: Letters: Argument against voting SNP today is badly flawed
READ MORE: Our pick of the best Dogs At Polling Stations photos
The SNP’s Joanna Cherry yesterday raised the issue at Prime Minister’s Questions.
“Over the last few days I’ve received distressed emails from a number of constituents who are EU citizens living in the UK but who won’t be able to vote tomorrow,” she said to Theresa May.
“Their predicament arises because of the Prime Minister’s government’s late decision to participate in the elections which didn’t give many EU citizens enough time to fill out the necessary form declaring that they won’t be voting elsewhere."
She asked May if she would use “all the powers” of her office to ensure the form is made available at polling stations today.
The Prime Minister said that the Government takes every step to allow people to vote and went on to blame the House for the late participation in the election because they failed to ratify her Brexit deal.
There’s something very rotten at the heart of British politics when #EU citizens resident here are being denied their right to vote. I raised this with @theresa_may at #PMQs yesterday but she has done nothing. I won’t let it lie #EUElections2019 #Brexit #FBPE https://t.co/Qx8bJdnhOl
— Joanna Cherry QC MP (@joannaccherry) May 23, 2019
Cherry has since taken to Twitter this afternoon, saying that there is “something very rotten at the heart of British politics”, adding: "I raised this with @theresamay at #PMQs yesterday but she has done nothing.
"I won’t let it lie.”
In that time, the hashtag #DeniedMyVote has started to trend on Twitter, with many EU citizens sharing their account.
One user of the social media site, Agata Patyna, said she was told she should vote in her homeland.
“Turned away from polling station this morning,” she tweeted. “Told I should vote in my EU member state.
Turned away from polling station this morning. Told I should vote in my EU member state. Called local council yesterday, they confirmed I could vote. Called again today. Apparently council had no time to send out forms to all EU residents. Nothing they can do now #DeniedMyVote
— Agata Patyna (@APatyna) May 23, 2019
“Called local council yesterday, they confirmed I could vote. Called again today. Apparently council had no time to send out forms to all EU residents. Nothing they can do now #DeniedMyVote.”
Another, Kätlin, shared the letter she received from Middlesbrough Council towards the start of the month. It read: "Further to your recent application to be added to electoral register, I’m writing to let you know that you are already registered and you don’t need to do anything else.”
Kätlin tweeted the picture along with the words: “#DeniedMyVote I love how they state on the letter that 'You don't need to do anything else' and then you turn up on the day and get denied.”
#DeniedMyVote I love how they state on the letter that "You don't need to do anything else" and then you turn up on the day and get denied. pic.twitter.com/1ruJoIIPB6
— Kätlin (@estkatlin) May 23, 2019
“I registered to vote online. When I called them today they said 'Sorry, but you registered on the final day and we didn't have time to send out the extra form for you'. What is the point of registration deadline, when you can't even fully register?”
The Guardian also reported that an Irish family in Liverpool were even denied the right to vote, even though Irish citizens living in the UK are allowed to participate in any election in the UK without the need for any special form.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel