Voting confusion follows ward changes

CHANGES to ward boundaries in Bexhill have led to confusion as to who is eligible to vote in the forthcoming by election.

The Rother seat of Bexhill Sackville and the East Sussex County Council seat for Bexhill East will be contested on September 9 following the resignation of Cllr Jean Hopkinson, who recently moved back to her native New Zealand.

But changes to the district ward boundaries in the last few years mean they no longer correspond to county boundaries. Around 1,000 potential voters will be affected.

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Voters in 200-or-so properties that moved from Bexhill Central to Bexhill Sackville ward in 2001 will be eligible to vote for the district seat but not for county election.

Another eight voters in properties in Worsham Lane that moved from Bexhill Old Town to Bexhill st Michael's in 2001 will also not be able to vote for the county seat.

The 750 voters whose homes were moved from St Michael's to Old Town under the changes will be eligible to vote for the county vacancy and their polling station will be at St Mary Magdalene's school, Hastings Road.

The candidates for the Rother Sackville Ward seat are; Neil Francis, Liberal Democrat; Graham Oliver, Conservative and Anne Thomson, UK Independence. The candidates for East Sussex County Council Bexhill East are; Martin Kenward, Conservative and Donald Wise, Liberal Democrat.

Anyone who is unsure of their eligibility to vote can contact the electoral services office at Rother on 01424 787825.