How the Clacton by-election count will take place

The biggest British election campaign, in terms of the number of individuals standing for a single parliamentary seat, is nearly over.

After polling booths close at 22:00 BST on Thursday, the counting of votes begins.

But with 34 candidates and a ballot paper that is nearly a metre long, it is expected to lengthen the time that takes compared to most parliamentary election counts.

People may still be waiting for a result while tucking into their breakfasts, rather than waking up to find out who has won.

Larger table areas are being set up at the count venue of Clacton Leisure Centre so the long ballot papers can be verified, sorted into piles and then counted.

Voting takes place at polling booths across the constituency from 07:00 until 22:00.

The first ballot boxes are expected to arrive 10 minutes after the polls close. With the constituency consisting of rural villages and seaside towns, the last ones should arrive by 23:30.

Records have already been broken for this election:

• the most candidates in one British election
• the most Independent candidates (20) to stand in a single election
• the longest ballot paper in British electoral history

Some 79,785 people are registered to vote in this by-election. Of those, 10,716 have already received a postal vote.

In 2024, the general election result for Clacton was announced at about 04:00, but there were only nine candidates then.

This by-election result is not expected until between 05:00 and 07:00 because the count process is expected to be slower with the longer ballots.

Usually a raised stage is erected for the candidates to stand on when the result is announced. However, one large enough for them all and strong enough to take their weight could not be found.

So instead the 34 will line up on the floor of the sports hall in alphabetical order to hear how many votes they received.

After the result only the winner will make a speech, which will last up to three minutes.

That individual will be the Clacton MP once the result is declared by the returning officer. They will be sworn in at the House of Commons once Parliament returns from the summer break in September.

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