Referendum
on the
Purchase of Land at Dinmurchie Farm
from the National Forest Estate
by
Barr Parish Development Company
5th August, 2014
Returning Officer’s Report
Contact Information: [email protected]
PO Box 1145, Warrington, Cheshire WA4 9GX
Table of Contents
Introduction: .......................................................................................................................................... 3
Returning Officer: ................................................................................................................................. 3
The Process: ......................................................................................................................................... 3
Project Management:........................................................................................................................... 4
Postal Voting: ........................................................................................................................................ 4
Printing, Fulfilment and Issue: ............................................................................................................ 4
Staffing: .................................................................................................................................................. 5
Receipt and Storage of Ballot Paper Envelopes: ............................................................................ 5
The Count: ............................................................................................................................................. 6
Post Count:............................................................................................................................................ 7
Conclusions:.......................................................................................................................................... 8
Acknowledgements: ............................................................................................................................. 8
Appendix: ............................................................................................................................................... 9
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Referendum on the Purchase of Land at Dinmurchie Farm
from the National Forest Estate
5th August, 2014
Returning Officer’s Report
Introduction:
Barr Parish Development Company (BPDC) was formed by Barr Village Community Council
to look at ways of stimulating the local economy and enabling the community to influence
and manage their own future.
Following local consultation and advice, BPDC concluded there was strong local interest for
the development of a local visitor attraction and the potential for a small hydro-electricity
scheme generating income and sustainable local employment through the purchase of
Dinmurchie Farm from the National Forest Estate.
The proposed acquisition was to be undertaken by means of the National Forest Land
Scheme (NFLS), which, in the first instance, required a formal ballot be held to establish the
level of community support for the proposal.
To demonstrate community support, the NFLS required a return rate of at least 50% of
eligible voters, of which a majority must vote in favour of the proposal before the project
could proceed.
Returning Officer:
As a professional electoral administrator with over thirty years’ experience, fifteen of which
as Depute Returning Officer in Scotland, I was appointed by Democracy Counts Ltd. (DCL)
to manage the preparations for and conduct of the referendum on behalf of BPDC.
The Process:
The purpose of the referendum was to determine whether there was community support for
BPDC to purchase land and buildings at Dinmurchie Farm, Barr, from the National Forest
Estate. The land would be leased under requirements of the National Forest Land Scheme
(NFLS).
It was determined by BPDC, following consultation with the Forestry Commission Scotland,
that the conduct of the referendum would be based on an all postal ballot using standard
election rules and practices to ensure maximum probity.
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DCL were appointed to conduct the ballot and a postal voting pack was issued to every
elector as indicated above.
The question to be put to voters was determined by BPDC in consultation with the Forestry
Commission Scotland and required voters to indicate their preferred proposition: in favour of
the proposal to purchase land at Dinmurchie Farm, or not in favour of the proposal to
purchase land at Dinmurchie Farm, by marking a cross in the appropriate box.
Eligibility to vote was defined as eligibility to vote in local authority elections with the
franchise extended to all eligible voters on the electoral register for the Barr polling district
S806.
Project Management:
The project was managed throughout using standard project management methodology.
Regular communication took place by telephone and email, and records were kept.
Postal Voting:
The postal voting pack, designed by DCL, made good use of colour and graphics and
promoted voter accessibility. The work was collaborative in nature and gave me as
Returning Officer a channel through which voters might be encouraged to take part.
A postal voting pack comprising: an introductory letter from the Returning Officer;
instructions on how to vote by post; a statement setting out details of the proposal; a pictorial
guide on how to complete the pack when voting by post, and a postage paid addressed
return envelope was issued to each eligible voter on the Barr electoral register S806 by
Royal Mail First Class post.
A Helpline telephone service operated by DCL was also offered to voters as were
instructions for obtaining a replacement ballot paper in the event of voters losing or spoiling
their original paper.
In my opinion, the pack, the instructions and the question put to voters were clear and
readily understood. The pictorial guide on how to complete and return the pack when voting
by post reflected the key elements of the template guide issued by the Electoral Commission
for use in statutory elections.
Packs were issued to all voters on Monday 21st July, 2014 allowing ample time for votes to
be marked and returned by the close of poll at 5pm on Tuesday, 5th August, 2014.
Printing, Fulfilment and Issue:
Printing and fulfilment of the postal voting packs was undertaken by DCL in house. The
company is an experienced postal vote provider currently contracted to numerous public and
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private sector bodies for electoral services including, but not limited to, the production of
postal voting stationery. I note that similar referendums, albeit on a larger scale, had been
carried out successfully by DCL for Aberdeen City Council and Creetown Initiative within the
previous two years.
The company occupies a two storied suite of offices at its HQ in Warrington and has
excellent transport links. The offices are modern, fully equipped and have appropriate fire
and intruder alarms.
The site was visited by me on 21st July, 2014 when I conducted checks on the processes
and briefed staff.
Random sampling of the packs was conducted before issue.
A receipt showing proof of posting forms the Appendix to this report confirming the total
number of packs released to Royal Mail on 21st July, 2014 for delivery by First Class mail as
258.
Staffing:
Two staff were engaged in the opening and counting of votes. The staff possessed a high
level of experience across a number of disciplines and were experienced in election
administration.
A training session was held followed by a refresher briefing on the day of issue. Daily calls
were made by me to monitor progress. The training was comprehensive and covered all
aspects of the processes involved. Staff responded well and mock openings confirmed their
understanding.
Supervisory staff were coached in addition as to the daily outcomes and additional
responsibilities associated with their roles.
Receipt and Storage of Ballot Paper Envelopes:
The proceedings were well regulated and were conducted efficiently.
At the close of each day the number of ballot paper envelopes received was recorded and all
ballot paper envelopes were placed unopened in a sealed ballot box
I monitored progress daily and, following the close of poll at 5pm on 5th August, oversaw the
reconciliation process.
A final reconciliation took place at the close of poll at 5pm on Tuesday, 5th August 2014,
involving a count of all ballot paper envelopes received by post (reconciled to previous daily
totals).
A check was made with Royal Mail’s local sorting office to ensure no votes were in the office
awaiting delivery.
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At the date of the count, a further 2 postal voting packs had been returned by Royal Mail
marked “Addressee Gone Away”.
The Count:
The count of votes was undertaken at DCL’s Warrington HQ on Wednesday, 6th August,
2014 at 10 a.m.
I supervised the removal of the sealed ballot box containing the unopened ballot paper
envelopes from a lockfast area where it had been stored since the verification the previous
day. I checked that all packets had been accounted for and that the seals were intact and
oversaw their removal to the count area.
I briefed the staff, and outlined the procedure to be followed.
The ballot box containing the ballot paper envelopes was then brought forward, unsealed
and emptied in view of those present.
The envelopes were counted, reconciled to the recorded total, opened and ballot papers
removed.
The ballot papers were then placed face down and counted (the verification). The total was
recorded.
In addition, a check of ballot paper serial numbers was undertaken to confirm all numbers
were within the known range and that there were no duplicates or other irregularities. The
Register of Electors was duly marked.
The ballot papers were turned over and separated by preference.
All doubtful papers were removed for adjudication by me. For the purposes of this
referendum, doubtful papers were classified as:





Want of official mark
Voting for more than one proposition
Unmarked or Void
Voter’s intention unclear
Writing or mark by which the voter might be identified
On completion of this stage and on my instruction, staff began counting the votes by
preference.
Counted ballots were stored in full view as the count progressed.
At the conclusion of the count, the doubtful ballots which had been adjudicated were added
to the total votes by preference and the total reconciled to the verification total.
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The result of the referendum was declared at 11am as follows:
Electorate
258
Total Votes Cast
152
Percentage Poll
58.9 %
Proposition
Number of Votes
IN FAVOUR of the proposed purchase
131
NOT IN FAVOUR of the proposed purchase
19
Rejected Ballot Papers
2
TOTAL
152
Statement of Rejected Ballot Papers
Want of official mark
Nil
Voting for more than one proposition
Nil
Unmarked or void
1
Voter’s intention unclear
Nil
Writing or Mark by which the voter could be identified
1
TOTAL
2
Post Count:
All ballot papers and the Marked Register were placed in sealed packets and will be
forwarded to BPDC for retention and eventual destruction after the requisite period.
All personal data held by Democracy Counts Ltd.in relation to the Referendum will be
deleted on 1st October, 2014
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Conclusions:
I believe that the Referendum was conducted fairly and transparently and was readily
accessible to all participants.
I am satisfied that the processes were delivered in a professional and equitable manner and
that the result as declared is accurate and robust.
Acknowledgements:
I would like to express my appreciation to Merlin Currie of BPDC, Elizabeth Paton of
Ayrshire Valuation Joint Board, and Malcolm Wield of the Forestry Commission Scotland for
their assistance and insight in facilitating this Referendum.
6th August, 2014
John H. McAdams
John McAdams
Returning Officer
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Appendix – Royal Mail Receipt
The receipt below provides proof of postage of the ballot packs to all registered electors. It
does not account for postage on those packs returned by voters.
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