The parents of Sheffield toddler Ollie Wray were surprised to find that their two-year-old is likely to be the UK’s youngest registered voter at today’s general election.
The Sheffield Star reports that Ollie brought his polling card to his father, Andy Wray, in a pile of letters collected from the mailbox. Mr Wray said:
“Ollie just loves Postman Pat so he always collects the letters and he came running in with the letter to show me. It was nice that he got a letter in his name but it was a bit strange that it was a polling card – maybe they are starting him off early.”
Sheffield Council said the error arose because under the old system one person could register an entire household rather than individuals having to register themselves. When the law changed it required that registered voters on the old system were simply carried forward to the new, although householders are meant to check the accuracy of the register. After this year the situation should not be repeated as voters will have to be registered with their national insurance number.
A spokesman for the council said:
“We do want everyone to use their vote in the democratic process, but not until they are old enough to do so.”
Predicting who Ollie would have supported in the election, his father told the Sheffield Star:
“If Postman Pat was standing then he would certainly vote. He’d be pretty torn between that or Thomas the Tank Engine I think.”