What time will the election results be declared in Halesowen

In the final hours of the 2024 general election, candidates will return to their constituencies to await the results. In Halesowen, votes will begin to be counted after the polls close at 10pm on July 4.

The ballot boxes will be sealed and taken to The Crystal Center in Stourbridge where council officials will begin the verification process. During verification, officials check that all ballots issued at polling stations, plus all mail-in ballots, have been brought in to be counted.

The check also provides the voter turnout figure for the election, which can be checked against all votes cast to ensure that all votes have been counted. Turnout is important to candidates and their agents because it can provide a first official indication of how many people voted.

Read more: Halesowen election candidates for 2024

Poll: Do you think your vote will make a difference?

Candidates and their agents will look for early clues about how many votes they have received, and in some areas, a high or low turnout is considered useful information about how much support might have been won. Another important indication of the outcome of the election will come with the publication of the exit poll data at 10:00.

Exit polls are where people are asked who they voted for when they leave the polls, it is illegal to release that data until the polls close. In the last election, the exit poll conducted by Ipsos and used by the BBC, ITV and Sky News accurately predicted the result.

In 2019, the 10am poll suggested the Conservatives would win 362 seats and Labor 191, the actual result was 365 for the Conservatives and 203 for Labour. There are 650 seats in the House of Commons, so the major parties will both be keen to see a prediction above 326 – the magic number for overall control.

After verification, the vote counting process will begin. Ballots will be bundled and boxed for each party so candidates and agents can watch closely to see which boxes fill up the fastest.

Once all the votes have been counted, the candidates will be called together to examine any spoiled ballots or ballots where there is doubt as to who the voter voted for. Candidates will also be told the result and, if there is only a few votes difference, they can ask for a recount to check the accuracy of the result.

Once the result is agreed, the result of the election will be declared publicly by the returning officer. Without a recount, the result for Halesowen is likely to be known around 3.30am.

Boundary changes since the last general election mean the new Halesowen constituency looks different to its predecessor – Halesowen and Rowley Regis. Some council wards in the Sandwell area that were part of the previous constituency have been removed, and wards in the Cradley, Lye and Quarry Bank areas are among the wards added in the now revamped Stourbridge constituency.

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