Wales election candidate missed-off ballot after 'printing error'

An independent Welsh Parliament election candidate whose name was left off some ballot papers has called the error "an affront to democracy".

Some voting papers for the regional north Wales seat did not include a box for independent Michelle Brown.

Returning officers said it was a "printing error" and said voters had been given the chance to vote for the full list at polling stations.

Ms Brown said she would be "examining the results very carefully".

She added: "This is not the end of the matter". 

Ms Brown said postal votes had been returned before the error had been spotted and that nothing had been done to "redress that".

On Thursday, voters headed to polling stations to elect 60 Members of the Senedd to form the next Welsh Parliament, and four Police and Crime Commissioners.

For the Senedd poll each voter was issued with two ballot papers, one to vote for their constituency MS and one to vote for their regional representatives in the chamber.

However, Ms Brown's name was not included on the regional north Wales list ballot papers at polling booths in Arfon and Anglesey, after a printing error.

Correct ballot papers were issued in other parts of the region.

In a joint statement, the regional returning officer for north Wales, Colin Everett, Gwynedd's returning officer Dilwyn Williams, and the returning officer for Ynys Mon, Annwen Morgan, said: "Due to a local printing error the Senedd North Wales Regional Ballot Papers for the Arfon constituency in Gwynedd and Ynys Mon do not include the final listed candidate - Michelle Brown, Independent."

The returning officers added that voters had been advised of the error as they attended their local polling stations and they were "being given the opportunity to vote for the candidate of their choice from the full list of nominated parties and candidates".

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"This situation is an affront to the very basics of democracy, both in the significance of the error, and the insignificance of the pitiful response that is being made to remedy it," said Ms Brown, who served as an MS for north Wales in the last Welsh Parliament.

"For example, the postal votes had already been sent back before the mistake was discovered, and nothing is being done to redress that.

"I am the only independent candidate standing in north Wales, and thousands of voters have been denied the opportunity to vote for someone who can and will prioritise the needs of the people ahead of party politics.

"I will be examining the results very closely indeed and can assure you, this is not the end of the matter.

"The Welsh people deserve better," she added.

Ms Brown sat as a UKIP MS in the last Welsh Parliament until she resigned in 2019 from the party and sat as an independent.

The returning officers, who oversee how each ballot is carried out, said they were "working closely" with the Electoral Commission, which was providing them with advice and guidance "on how we can support voters in casting their vote".