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Save election night?

Plans are afoot in several constituencies to delay election counts from the nights of votes being cast to the day after. This threat to the tradition of election night results has inspired a protest movement, complete with a 3,500-member Facebook group.

It's hard not to sympathize with those opposed to the change: a late night spent watching one of the Dimblebys is a ritual for millions of people, one of the few times they feel a part of the democratic process, and to lose it would be a shame. Of course, there are considerations of cost and accuracy on the other side of the issue, and the introduction of time-consuming checks on postal votes apparently has something to do with the proposed delays. But if you do decide election night is worth saving for all that, you can join the campaign here.

openDemocracy Author

Thomas Ash

Thomas Ash was associate editor and web development consultant at openDemocracy, where he built the current site. He now works for New Internationalist magazine, and his personal website on philosophy is PhilosoFiles.com.

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