Port-a-Poll... Wherever Next!?
We recently got to see a traditional voting location set up with our furniture for the elections, but not all count locations are as typical as this!
What’s your polling premise?
Across the country, all kinds of premises are opening their doors to welcome residents who want to vote in the General Election. Our client recently ordered 600 of our white folding fan back chairs and 240 of our modular tables for the vote count. We installed these on behalf of the London borough, and you can see some photos of the set up here.
Leisure centres, schools and church halls are some of the more usual locations for polling stations, but the Mirror has highlighted some more rare places where people make their mark on ballot papers, and here are some of our favourite…
1. Port-a-poll?
We’ve probably all been in a portable building at some point, perhaps while at school, or at events where they’re used for extra venue space. In the 2014 Local and European elections, residents living in Biggin could vote in a mobile building so tiny it’s been described as a being just a bit bigger than a port-a-loo but smaller than a classroom.
2. Air your laundry
When you think about what a polling station actually requires, it’s not really surprising that many different places have doubled as them for elections. There needs to be enough room for the number of people who could turn up, and some privacy to confidentially choose the candidate you prefer. Some premises can offer even more, how about the chance to do your laundry too? In Oxford voters could call into a launderette to vote and do their washing too.
3. Getting mobile
Not all polling stations are fixed places, like churches and leisure centres, some are only in place for those hours when people can vote. Residents living in Garthorp near Manchester were invited to choose their preferred party in a touring caravan on a farm, during the 2014 Local and European Elections. Believe it or not, we have furniture that can suit such small spaces, such as our white folding fan back chairs, which can be folded for storage, and don’t take up much room when set up!
4. Take time out…
If you’ve ever taken out a gym membership then ‘forgot’ to go, the General Election might give you another reason to remember your workout if you live in Hull. This is because the East Hull Boxing Club also doubles up as a gym and a polling station, so if you fancy jumping into the ring after voting then you can, or maybe you’d prefer to go to our next destination…
5. Poll pub
So there are polling stations where you can workout, catch up on some laundry or enjoy the rural fresh air in a caravan - and if you live in Oxfordshire’s South Moreton you might even be able to order a refreshment and a packet of crisps after you’ve voted. In 2014 the Crown pub also became a polling station...Maybe even Nigel Farage will be there already enjoying a pint!
