Counting

Daegerty · 25-02-2011 11:42am #1

When will we start seeing results? I believe counting starts at 9 in the morning tomorrow, does that include every vote or have those from the Islands already been counted?

Riskymove · 25-02-2011 11:43am

Daegerty wrote: »

When will we start seeing results? I believe counting starts at 9 in the morning tomorrow, does that include every vote or have those from the Islands already been counted?

the island votes are not opened or counted until all the rest are

we should start hearing first round count results from around lunchtime tomorrow, results throughout the day from then on

possible recounts over next few days

Kimono-Girl · 25-02-2011 11:44am

i was told for cork south central be there for 11am because all the boxes will be opened and they will have a fair idea of which way its going.

johnlambe · 25-02-2011 11:55am

The first count in Dublin City typically finishes around 11:00, if I remember correctly. At that point, the results of the tally will be available - first preferences only (based on a sample of about 98 or 99% of the votes).

The full (official) counts of most constituencies typically finish sometime in the evening of the first day, with a significant minority continuing to the next day.

However, there are more candidates than usual this time (therefore more counts), so the final results are likely to be a bit later than usual.

Lucifer_666 · 25-02-2011 5:36pm

Is it just me that thinks it's ridiculous that the vote count is not done through the night like most other civilised countries in the world? God forbid people may actually stay up past 10pm :rolleyes:

Riskymove · 25-02-2011 5:37pm

Lucifer_666 wrote: »

Is it just me that thinks it's ridiculous that the vote count is not done through the night like most other civilised countries in the world? God forbid people may actually stay up past 10pm :rolleyes:

PR-STV takes a lot longer than first past the post

Sierra Oscar · 25-02-2011 5:38pm

You will have a fair idea where the 1st preferences are going pretty much right after the first few boxes have been opened.

Daegerty · 25-02-2011 5:40pm

Lucifer_666 wrote: »

Is it just me that thinks it's ridiculous that the vote count is not done through the night like most other civilised countries in the world? God forbid people may actually stay up past 10pm :rolleyes:

I'd say its just you. What's 11 more hours? You'll have to put up with them for the next 5 years.

ednwireland · 25-02-2011 5:43pm

Lucifer_666 wrote: »

Is it just me that thinks it's ridiculous that the vote count is not done through the night like most other civilised countries in the world? God forbid people may actually stay up past 10pm :rolleyes:

its you

i dont think anywhere counts thorugh the night apart from the uk parliamentry elections, their eu and local which (i think) are PR are counted the following day

Lucifer_666 · 25-02-2011 8:50pm

Well aren't you two being presumptuous to assume you know what the rest are thinking....Disagree with me all you like but let others decide before you declare me wrong or alone in my assessments.

The USA also count through the night and I'm sure there is many more...

I think it adds that extra interest to the whole procedure...for example if it was on tonight live on RTE bringing in results I'd probably stay up and watch a good bit of it but I can tell you I'm not wasting my Saturday on it.

I just think if they want to gather interest in politics from the young and God do we need an injection of young blood there they should be making events of stuff like this

mikemac · 25-02-2011 8:55pm

Lucifer_666 wrote: »

they should be making events of stuff like this

And it will be covered all tomorrow afternoon
And RTÉ have a pretty cool site for this.

If they counted tonight it might finish up sometime tomorrow morning.
If you're going to mention making an event of it and making it interesting , you have all tomorrow to watch every update and news and interview. Hours of TV to watch

Who will see an interview at 5am?
If you can wait four years then you can wait one day

Lucifer_666 · 25-02-2011 10:01pm

Your missing my point ...this is not about being patient or impatient....it is however about making it an event that will appeal to the young and yes its on all day tomorrow...but its a saturday...a day alot of people will be out and about. While if it was done thru the night it adds more emphasis to the whole thing...you can make popcorn, have a drink, let the kids stay up....

But hey thats my opinion and everyone to their own

CiniO · 25-02-2011 10:07pm

Lucifer_666 wrote: »

Is it just me that thinks it's ridiculous that the vote count is not done through the night like most other civilised countries in the world? God forbid people may actually stay up past 10pm :rolleyes:

Yes. That seems to be strange.
I remember when I was living in Poland, during most elections votes were even counted during the election. At 10pm when election is over, there were already provisional results available, and then full results next morning.

edanto · 25-02-2011 10:12pm

Lucifer_666 wrote: »

Your missing my point ...this is not about being patient or impatient....it is however about making it an event that will appeal to the young and yes its on all day tomorrow...but its a saturday...a day alot of people will be out and about. While if it was done thru the night it adds more emphasis to the whole thing...you can make popcorn, have a drink, let the kids stay up....

But hey thats my opinion and everyone to their own

But surely having the count during daytime hours means that it's easier to have people involved, and families involved (tho I'd say that would be rare).

I think it's better as it is instead of staying up all night. There are plenty of things I like to stay up all night to enjoy, but watching people counting ain't one of em!

mikemac · 25-02-2011 10:20pm

Lucifer_666 wrote: »

.you can make popcorn, have a drink, let the kids stay up....

Sounds like Superbowl Sunday

Lucifer_666 · 25-02-2011 10:47pm

Hi CiniO so I'm not alone thinking this than

I remember a few years back they contemplated counting through the night but there was complaints about keeping people working beyond "normal hours"
I just found it ludicrous like it is only one day every couple of years

Have any of you ever stayed up and watched the uk or American elections...they talk to celebs, of course the politicians and correspondents the even throw in some computer graphics because they want to make it an event to remember and the best way to do that is a thru' the night show and yes my friend it should be like the Super Bowl...
Come to think of it i stay up every time to watch the Super bowl but I'm not sure if it was shown at midday whether I'd watch it....the time slots for stuff like this do matter

InTheTrees · 25-02-2011 11:05pm

I'm with you Lucifer.

I thought it was a joke when I heard they dont start counting until tomorrow.

Wtf? Why not keep the polls open then? The whole election machine comes to a complete stop while we wait for some bureaucrats to get a full nights sleep? Or is it the incredible complexity of PR thats causing the holdup?

It's like delaying the results of a photo finish of a horse race until the next day just because the guy who looks at the pictures has to go home for his tea.

delta_bravo · 25-02-2011 11:12pm

InTheTrees wrote: »

It's like delaying the results of a photo finish of a horse race until the next day just because the guy who looks at the pictures has to go home for his tea.

Wow. Its really not like that whatsoever.

InTheTrees · 25-02-2011 11:21pm

delta_bravo wrote: »

Wow. Its really not like that whatsoever.

yes, it is. The tension is palpable. The excitement infectious. I cant sit still. I'm nervous but thrilled. trembling with anticipation.

and then i hear the whole circus grinds to a stop because... why? because we need a full nights sleep? For ELEVEN hours?

3ndahalfof6 · 25-02-2011 11:33pm

Lucifer_666 wrote: »

Your missing my point ...this is not about being patient or impatient....it is however about making it an event that will appeal to the young and yes its on all day tomorrow...but its a saturday...a day alot of people will be out and about. While if it was done thru the night it adds more emphasis to the whole thing...you can make popcorn, have a drink, let the kids stay up....

But hey thats my opinion and everyone to their own

I have to agree, plus it lets the younger generation get a feel of what an election is about,

even though they might be asleep after the 1st hour.

as for the people saying we might miss interviews and people staying up all night, they had 4yrs to prepare for it,

its not rocket science 1 for me, 1 for you, 4 for me, 1 for you, 6 for me, none for you and so on till FF fill their 11 seats.

Callan57 · 25-02-2011 11:37pm

RTE1 will have the exit polls at 8am ... they were very accurate last time so should be a good indicator of how the day will pan out.
I'm all set up .... laptop, mobile, telly remote & radio plus the paper & pencils.
Reminds me of Xmas morning as a child

:D:D:D

3ndahalfof6 · 25-02-2011 11:44pm

just on the election I don't have access to TV till later,

is there any indication of how big the % of voters was.

Raging_Ninja · 25-02-2011 11:50pm

If you keep people working for more than 12 hours straight, mistakes will be made. People need to sleep. Is a bit of common decency too much to ask?

InTheTrees · 25-02-2011 11:51pm

Callan57 wrote: »

RTE1 will have the exit polls at 8am ... they were very accurate last time so should be a good indicator of how the day will pan out.

RTE need to be reprimanded. They should release the results they have when they get them rather than stringing the public along and forceing them to switch on rte at 8am.

How many people at rte know the exit poll results right now? Are they sharing them with the political parties? I bet they do.

falan · 25-02-2011 11:57pm

Lucifer_666 wrote: »

Is it just me that thinks it's ridiculous that the vote count is not done through the night like most other civilised countries in the world? God forbid people may actually stay up past 10pm :rolleyes:

You have to give them time to erase the pencil marks and rig the vote whatever way the want.

shergar22 · 26-02-2011 12:04am

CiniO wrote: »

Yes. That seems to be strange.
I remember when I was living in Poland, during most elections votes were even counted during the election. At 10pm when election is over, there were already provisional results available, and then full results next morning.

Perhaps the fact that the counting staff may need to take a break to stay fresh and ensure that they don't make errors?

Raging_Ninja · 26-02-2011 12:05am

InTheTrees wrote: »

RTE need to be reprimanded. They should release the results they have when they get them rather than stringing the public along and forceing them to switch on rte at 8am.

How many people at rte know the exit poll results right now? Are they sharing them with the political parties? I bet they do.

Is the election coverage moratorium still in effect?

Tomk1 · 26-02-2011 12:26am

Lucifer_666 wrote: »

Well aren't you two being presumptuous to assume you know what the rest are thinking....Disagree with me all you like but let others decide before you declare me wrong or alone in my assessments.

The USA also count through the night and I'm sure there is many more...

I think it adds that extra interest to the whole procedure...for example if it was on tonight live on RTE bringing in results I'd probably stay up and watch a good bit of it but I can tell you I'm not wasting my Saturday on it.

I just think if they want to gather interest in politics from the young and God do we need an injection of young blood there they should be making events of stuff like this

Well I'm one of the rest and can't see what the rush is, I don't want to be getting up at 3am to watch the first count results, neither can I see how staying up all night untill 5 or 6 am will free up saturday. I'm looking forward to tomorrow day and afternoon and well into the night, anyway the real action will be tomorrow night.

Lucifer_666 · 26-02-2011 1:21am

Ragingninja and Shergar do you both really believe that people for one night every four years can't work through the night without making a mistake.

...I'm wiling to entertain most things but c'mon that really is a lame argument guys

I am glad to see more people come on here on my same wave length about the whole thing....perhaps one day we will see a result event show thru the night .....I'm not holding my breath though :rolleyes:

Tomk If they started counting immediately after closing at 10pm surely we should be getting loads of results coming in by 3 or 4am before that we would be getting in the early tallies and the show would be discussing and assessing using these as a benchmark.... throw in some fancy graphics, celebs and we got ourselves a decent show:D

Lucifer_666 · 26-02-2011 1:28am

Callan57 wrote: »

RTE1 will have the exit polls at 8am ... they were very accurate last time so should be a good indicator of how the day will pan out.
I'm all set up .... laptop, mobile, telly remote & radio plus the paper & pencils.
Reminds me of Xmas morning as a child :D:D:D

Well let's not go too far bud :eek: Like Xmas morning??? Errrr...I'm guessing your past Christmas days weren't all too hot

Daegerty · 26-02-2011 1:37am

Lucifer_666 wrote: »

Tomk If they started counting immediately after closing at 10pm surely we should be getting loads of results coming in by 3 or 4am before that we would be getting in the early tallies and the show would be discussing and assessing using these as a benchmark.... throw in some fancy graphics, celebs and we got ourselves a decent show:D

Why not start counting at 11 O'clock in the morning on polling day just to give you an idea of how things are going and maybe get more people to vote if they don't like the early indications.

I know PR is a complicated ould thing if you don't have all the votes but once the first 1,000 or so are in they can give an indication. They can count them properly then through the weekend.

It doesn't matter a damn if they count them through the night or Saturday. It's not like a politician is going to work on Sunday. Pfffffffffffffffft they hardly show up during the week

mikemac · 26-02-2011 1:57am

The election officers started work at 6:30am yesterday and going straight to the count will probably run over a 24 hour shift

Let them go home, a tired officer isn't much good for accuracy and attention to detail.

Or we could hire another shift of staff to hand over to but then I'd be reading even more outrage threads on wasting public money and the confusion that would happen in the handover

I'm looking forward to tomorrow (well today as it's am). 5pm will do as well as 5am

Teddy455 · 26-02-2011 2:02am

Does anyone know if there will be wifi at the count centres? CNW:Macroom?

Lucifer_666 · 26-02-2011 2:31am

Your right 'feelingstressed' them poor Election Officers ...we better not push them too hard now or they may not be able for the next election in four years time:p in fact let's make sure that we phone their parents to bring them home and make sure they tuck them in nice and snug....after all a tired election officer is a dopey election officer:rolleyes:

And yes I'm being sarcastic if it wasn't blatantly obvious

mikemac · 26-02-2011 2:34am

The next election is around September, not four years

We need a new President

Lucifer_666 · 26-02-2011 2:46am

lol if its any consolation I won't expect them poor election officers to stay up for the september ones....its only the important elections that matter;)

Gingy · 26-02-2011 3:14am

Does anyone know how much the election officers get paid? It's a long 15 hours doing nothing today and more counting tomorrow, but I heard some crazy figures and just wanted to check it out.

InTheTrees · 26-02-2011 3:14am

And another reason for starting the count once the polls close is that we wouldnt be in the ridiculous position of being held hostage by the seemingly only company to do an exit poll: RTE. who is using it to push their own 8am programme tomorrow.

The whole tension of the election is diluted by such a pause, maybe thats the point. But i liked the suggestion earlier that counting through the night makes it a time for people to gather and watch democracy in action; rather than this saturday midday delay.

InTheTrees · 26-02-2011 3:15am

Gingy wrote: »

Does anyone know how much the election officers get paid?

Maybe thats why they're dragging the thing out as long as they can.

Victor · 26-02-2011 4:07am

InTheTrees wrote: »

RTE need to be reprimanded. They should release the results they have when they get them rather than stringing the public along and forceing them to switch on rte at 8am.

How many people at rte know the exit poll results right now? Are they sharing them with the political parties? I bet they do.

What does it matter? The votes are cast, releasing the exit poll not or in the morning changes nothing.

Electricpie · 26-02-2011 5:41am

feelingstressed wrote: »

The next election is around September, not four years
We need a new President

That's assuming that there will be an election. If it's a FG govt, even with independents, the Labour Party will probably insist on an election. However if it's a FG/Lab coalition they may not. If FF do very badly they may not be inclined to force an election so that leaves Sinn Féin and David Norris. If SF can get 20 members of the Óireachtas to nominate a candidate they could force one, all depends on how they do in the general election and subsequent Senate election. Norris will find it difficult to get 20 members of the Óireachtas unless one of the parties adopts him so his only remaining option would be to seek the support of city and county councils which Dana did in 1997.

Personally I think an election is essential for the Presidency. For too long we have had deals between the major parties to avoid elections - Paddy Hillery served 2 terms without ever being elected and Mary McAleese was able to nominate herself for the second term without an election.

Counting

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