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Welsh election: Long queues and waits reported at polling stations

"I couldn't wait two-and-a-half hours to cast my vote"

Election authorities have said social distancing was a factor as voters complained of long delays at several polling stations in south Wales.

Some people reportedly had to queue for over an hour to vote yesterday in Cardiff, Bridgend and Cowbridge.

Parents were spotted queueing with children wearing pyjamas, while others with work and childcare commitments said they had to give up waiting.

The Electoral Commission said anyone in line at 2200 BST was allowed to vote.

Trainee surgeon Frank Sanders, from Canton in Cardiff, said he tried to vote twice and gave up both times.

He told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast: "First time I was on my way into work and I stopped off and there was already a queue that was too long - I stayed there for 10 minutes but I wasn't moving at all," he said.

"And then I went back in the evening and it was preposterously long.

People queuing outside a polling station in Cardiff
People queued outside polling stations in Cardiff for up to one-and-a-half hours
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"My neighbours just got back and said they were an hour and 45 minutes, so I went to have a look and it was even longer than when they were there. There must have been two, two-and-a-half hours of queuing for some of the poor people there.

"I couldn't stay and wait because it was 9.30pm. I've got to get up and go to work this morning so I couldn't.

"I felt I was unable to vote, and that was taken away from me because of the queues."

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In a statement the Electoral Commission said: "Social distancing was in place in polling stations across Wales, and staff were managing the number of people allowed inside at any one time.

"As a result, some voters were asked to queue to enter their polling station. Anyone who was in the queue at their polling station at 10pm will have been able to vote."

A queue of people waiting to vote in Cowbridge
There was a queue of people to cast their vote earlier in the day in Cowbridge, Vale of Glamorgan

'Is that it?'

Among those in the queues were teenage first-time voters eager to get their voices heard after the voting age was lowered to 16.

Oscar Griffin, 18, from Cardiff, said: "I felt there was a lot of build-up - there's been a lot of campaigning about how important it is for young people to vote in this election and it took like 10 seconds.

"You just write on the paper and you leave and that's it, and you think, 'do I get a sticker? Is that it?'."

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Rosie Truman, 16, from Newport, said she found the process "very simple".

Jess Blair, director of the Electoral Reform Society in Wales, told BBC Radio Wales the pandemic had made people more politically aware, which might have improved turnout.

"The public are definitely more aware of what decisions are made in Wales, the role of the first minister and the fact that health is obviously devolved, so there's a little bit of hope in that I think," she said.

But she warned there needed to be a better strategy in attracting young voters.