[26
APR 00] COVENTRY CITY COUNCIL NEWS
Voters Queue To Make Their Choice
BY ANTONY HOPKER
Eight
days before polling day in the local elections, people queued in
Coventry city centre to cast their vote.
They
were able to vote in the Precinct today as part of a scheme to
encourage a higher turnout.
Last
year the turnout in Coventry was just 26 per cent, and the national
figures were equally dismal.
The
government has backed a number of schemes to try and persuade more
people to vote.
And
despite the drizzle, there was a short queue of people at the three
portacabins, eager to cast their vote.
Lord
Mayor Joan Wright, who was among the first to vote, said:
“I
think it’s a wonderful idea.
“Anything
that will encourage people to come out to vote is what we need.”
Student
Anne Sidney, aged 18, of Clovelly Road, Wyken, said the scheme had
allowed her to cast her vote because she would be away at university
on 4 May.
She
said:
“I
think it is a very good idea, because I would have had to get a
postal vote to be able to vote otherwise.
“Last
year I voted for the first time on my birthday and I wanted to be
able to vote again this year.”
The
polling stations will be open until Saturday between 9am and 5.30pm.
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