Multiple reports and testimonies on social media suggest that EU citizens living in the UK were ‘denied the right to vote’ despite having the correct documentation. Many EU citizens stated that they were prevented from voting even though they had polling cards outlining their eligibility to vote.
Most of the individual accounts of being denied the right to vote were stated on Twitter with the hashtag “#DeniedMyVote“. In fact, it was one of the highest trending topics in the UK on Twitter.
The 3 Million – an organization ‘giving a voice to the 3 million EU citizens in the UK – responded to reports of EU citizens being prevented from voting. In a tweet, they urged “all EU citizens to COMPLAIN to the Electoral Commission”. On their website, the 3 million have constructed a letter and email so that the people who have been affected by this chaos can report it to the Chief Executive of the Electoral Commission, Mr. Posner.
Meanwhile, politicians and campaigners expressed disappointment, fury and shock. Nicola Sturgeon, the First Minister of Scotland and the leader of the SNP, described the situation as “outrageous”.
Guy Verhofstadt MEP, the president of the ALDE Group and Brexit Coordinator for the European Parliament, also shared his thoughts about the shamble by describing it as “worrying”. He additionally tweeted that “the scale of this apparent problem needs to be investigated”.
In response to EU citizens in the UK being denied the right to vote, the Electoral Commission finally published a statement. They wrote: “We’re aware that some EU citizens, resident in the UK, have been unable to vote today and understand the frustration this has caused”.
The Electoral Commission explained that these clerical and bureaucratic failures by blaming it on “the very short notice from the Government of the UK” of wanting to participate in the European Parliament elections.
As a consolatory message, the Electoral Commission reminded those who were not able to vote in the UK that they can still do so in their home country.
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